None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This project is a randomised controlled trial of an established online bulletin board for depression. It has been estimated that millions of people worldwide use peer-to-peer bulletin boards, forums or internet support groups (ISGs) for health conditions. However, little is known about the effectiveness of these groups in terms of symptom reduction or improvement in quality of life. To our knowledge, this is the first randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of a pre-existing, well-established online bulletin board for depression in the community. The aims of the project are to determine whether BlueBoard, an established online bulletin board for depression, improves mental health, quality of life, and related outcomes among members of the community with high levels of self-reported psychological distress and previous history or current experience of depression.
Interventions
Arm 1: Intervention condition. The intervention condition involves participants visiting and posting to an online bulletin board for depression called BlueBoard. BlueBoard is a free, online supportive bulletin board that has been developed and is provided by researchers at CMHR, ANU. The board can be accessed 24 hours a day and is monitored by trained moderators between the hours of 7am and 10pm, 7 days a week. The board is moderated to ensure the appropriateness of posted material and to pr
Arm 1: Intervention condition. The intervention condition involves participants visiting and posting to an online bulletin board for depression called BlueBoard. BlueBoard is a free, online supportive bulletin board that has been developed and is provided by researchers at CMHR, ANU. The board can be accessed 24 hours a day and is monitored by trained moderators between the hours of 7am and 10pm, 7 days a week. The board is moderated to ensure the appropriateness of posted material and to protect the safety of the members of the board. Participants allocated to the BlueBoard intervention will nominate a username (not their real name) and password to access the board and will be encouraged to use the board for a period of 6 months. Participants will receive automatically generated e-mails reminding them to use the board if they have not logged on to the board for 14 days or longer.
Sponsors
Prof Kathleen Griffiths
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Aged 18 years or older Regular access to the Internet A current, regularly used e-mail address Current diagnosis of depression or symptoms of depression, or a history of depression Willingness to regularly participate in an online bulletin board support group
Exclusion criteria
Current or past diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or psychosis Current involvement in an online or face-to-face support group for depression
Outcome results
None listed