Multicultural Information on Depression: Effects of a multilingual information website intervention on the levels of depression literacy and depression related stigma in Greek-born and Italian-born immigrants living in Australia

ISRCTN	ISRCTN76460837
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN76460837
Protocol serial number	N/A
Sponsor	The beyondblue Victorian Centre of Excellence in Depression and Related Disorders (Australia)
Funder	The beyondblue Victorian Centre of Excellence in Depression and Related Disorders (Australia)

Submission date: 08/01/2010
Registration date: 04/02/2010
Last edited: 29/12/2020

Recruitment status: No longer recruiting
Overall study status: Completed
Condition category: Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Prospectively registered

Protocol

Statistical analysis plan

Results

Individual participant data

Plain English summary of protocol

Not provided at time of registration

Contact information

Dr Litza Kiropoulos
Scientific

Monash University
School of Psychology and Psychiatry
Monash Medical Centre
Level 3, Block P
246 Clayton Rd, Clayton
Melbourne
3168
Australia

Phone	+61 (0)3 9594 1467
Email	litza.kiropoulos@med.monash.edu.au

Study information

Primary study design	Interventional
Study design	Single centre cross-sectional randomised controlled trial
Secondary study design	Randomised controlled trial
Study type	Participant information sheet
Scientific title	Effects of a multilingual information website intervention on the levels of depression literacy and depression related stigma in Greek-born and Italian-born immigrants living in Australia: a cross-sectional randomised controlled trial
Study acronym	MIDonline
Study objectives	In this study, we evaluate the impact of a new web-based multilingual intervention (MIDonline) on depression literacy, personal and perceived stigma and level of depression among Greek-born and Italian-born immigrants living in Melbourne, Australia.
Ethics approval(s)	Monash University Standing Committee on Ethics in Research involving Humans approved on the 27th June 2006 (ref: 2006/546)
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied	Depression and depression related stigma
Intervention	Participants were randomly assigned either to the MIDonline intervention or the control/no intervention interview condition. Participants in both conditions spent on average 1 - 1.5 hours to complete the MIDonline condition or the control interview. MIDonline Intervention: The intervention comprised the consumer stream of the MIDonline website (http://www.MIDonline.com.au) which provides online multilingual information about depression designed for middle- to older-aged consumers from a non-English speaking background. The material is available in the Greek, Italian and English languages. The website content incorporates information about symptoms and case studies of depression, how depression is diagnosed, related disorders, causes, treatment options, how to find a bilingual mental health professional and professional psychological care, stigma related to mental illness, and multilingual translated resources. The MIDonline website also includes separate sections for carers and mental health professionals. The information is provided is a culturally relevant way. For example, case studies are representative of middle- to older-aged people of both genders who are Greek-born and Italian-born. Control condition: The control intervention consisted of a semi-structured interview with a bilingual interviewer who asked open-ended questions about the participant's depression related illness schemas. Specifically, questions were asked about the causes, important symptoms, course and development, treatments and outcomes of depression. The follow-up questionnaire was completed an average of 7.95 days (sd = 2.34) after participants completed the post-intervention questionnaire for both the MIDonline and control/interview arms.
Intervention type	Other
Primary outcome measure(s)	1. Depression literacy, assessed using translated and adapted versions of the D-Lit scale which is a 22-item true/false test of knowledge about depression. A higher score on this scale indicated greater literacy. 2. Depression related stigma; changes in personal (reflecting the participants' personal attitudes) and perceived (reflecting participants' beliefs about the attitudes of others) depression stigma were assessed using the 18-item Depression Stigma Scale. Half of the items required participants to rate how strongly they personally agreed with a statement about depression (e.g., people with depression are unpredictable). The other half of the items asked the participant to indicate what they thought most other people believed about the same issue (e.g. 'most people believe that people with depression are unpredictable'). Ratings were made on a five-point Likert scale. Scores on the total scale range from 0 to 36 for the full scale and 0 to 18 for each of the two nine-item sub-scales, with higher scores indicating greater stigma. 3. Level of depression. Depression severity was measured with the Beck Depression Inventory - version 2 (BDI-II) which is a 21-item instrument for measuring severity of depression in adults. Responses to items covered the 'past two weeks, including today'. Responses on the BDI-II items range from 0 to 6 with higher values indicating higher severity. All participants who took part in the study completed the pre-, post- and 1 week follow-up questionnaires which included the above outcome measures. The pre- questionnaire was completed just prior to taking part in either the MIDonline intervention or the control condition and the post- assessment straight after the completion of the intervention or control condition. The follow up questionnaire was completed an average of 7.95 days (s.d. = 2.34) after participants completed the post-intervention questionnaire.
Key secondary outcome measure(s)	Socio-demographic variables and clinical history such as: 1. Age 2. Gender 3. Birthplace 4. Marital status 5. Level of education 6. Occupation level 7. Currently working 8. Length of stay in Melbourne 9. Greek identification 10. Italian identification 11. Australian identification 12. Current living situation 13. English language proficiency 14. Current work status 15. Alcohol use 16. Memory functioning 17. Reported physical conditions 18. Frequency of physical activity 19. Tobacco use 20. Currently receiving treatment for an emotional or psychological problem 21. What type of treatment being received and from whom 22. Indicators of quality of life Recorded at the pre-assesment time point only.
Completion date	01/06/2009

Eligibility

Participant type(s)	Patient
Age group	Adult
Sex	All
Target sample size at registration	202
Total final enrolment	202
Key inclusion criteria	1. Middle- to older-aged (45+ years of age), either sex 2. Greek-born or Italian-born first generation immigrants 3. Living in Melbourne, Australia
Key exclusion criteria	Does not meet inclusion criteria
Date of first enrolment	01/11/2006
Date of final enrolment	01/06/2009

Locations

Countries of recruitment

Australia

Study participating centre

Monash University

Melbourne
3168
Australia

Results and Publications

Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share	No
IPD sharing plan summary	Not provided at time of registration
IPD sharing plan

Study outputs

Output type	Details	Date created	Date added	Peer reviewed?	Patient-facing?
Results article	results	19/04/2011	29/12/2020	Yes	No
Participant information sheet	Participant information sheet	11/11/2025	11/11/2025	No	Yes
Study website	Study website	11/11/2025	11/11/2025	No	Yes

Editorial Notes

29/12/2020: The following changes have been made:
1. Publication reference added.
2. The final enrolment number has been added from the reference.