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

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

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN76460837

Enrollment

202

Registered

2010-02-04

Start date

2006-11-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2021-01-11

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Depression and depression related stigma Mental and Behavioural Disorders Depressive episode

Interventions

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

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

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

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Does not meet inclusion criteria

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
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.	—

Measure

Time frame

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.

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Secondary

Measure	Time frame
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.	—

Measure

Time frame

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.

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Countries

Australia

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Mar 29, 2026