A Trial on the Effectiveness of Screening and Brief Problem-Solving Therapy (PST) for Elderly Patients With Psychological Problems

A Randomised Controlled Trail on the Effectiveness of Screening and Brief Counselling (Problem-Solving Therapy) for Elderly Patients With Psychological Problems in Primary Care.

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00863031

Enrollment

299

Registered

2009-03-17

Start date

2002-11-30

Completion date

2006-06-30

Last updated

2009-03-17

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

Conditions

Undiagnosed Psychological Problems

Keywords

mental health, problem-solving therapy, elderly, health-related quality of life, primary care, Chinese

Brief summary

The aim of this study was to determine whether screening followed by brief PSC provided by primary care doctors could improve the quality of life of elderly patients with unrecognized psychological problems in primary care. The following hypotheses were tested: 1. Elderly patients screened positive of psychological problems had poorer health-related quality of life (HRQOL) than those who were screened negative. 2. Primary care doctors could be trained to provide brief PST. 3. Brief PST by a trained primary care doctor could improve the HRQOL of the elderly who were screened positive for psychological problems.

Detailed description

Design & methods: A prospective single-blind randomised controlled trial (RCT) on 299 patients aged 60 or above without any known psychological diseases but screened positive for psychological problems by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Subjects were randomised to problem-solving (PST) or video-viewing (placebo). All subjects continued with their usual care and were followed up by telephone at 6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks.Changes in SF-36 HRQOL scores, HADS scores and monthly consultation rates at 6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks within groups and between groups.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALproblem-solving therapy

Three sessions of problem-solving therapy at week 1, 3 and 5.

BEHAVIORALVideo-viewing

Three sessions of viewing health educational videos.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

60 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Aged 60 or above * not known to have any psychological problem * HADS Depression score 6 or above, or Anxiety Score 3 or above * Written consent to study

Exclusion criteria

* known psychological disease diagnosed by a registered doctor * history of taking any psychotropic drug prescribed by a registered doctor within the last year; * suicidal plan or strong suicidal thought; * psychotic symptom; * impairment in cognitive function; or * communication problem.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Health-related quality of life scores	6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale scores	6, 12, 26 and 52 weeks

Countries

Hong Kong

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026