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Evaluating a Mobile Phone Intervention

Using Mobile Phones to Reduce Negative Rumination

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04554706
Enrollment
150
Registered
2020-09-18
Start date
2021-05-06
Completion date
2021-11-06
Last updated
2021-11-10

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

Conditions

Depression, Rumination - Thoughts

Brief summary

This clinical trial intends to study the efficacy of a mobile phone delivered intervention in reducing depression-related rumination.

Detailed description

Here we propose to test a novel intervention to help individuals manage their depressive rumination. The intervention is based on a just-in-time, adaptive-intervention (JITAI) design. A JITAI is an intervention designed to address the dynamically changing needs of individuals via the provision of the type/amount of support needed, at the right time, and only when needed . This study is also to address one major concern regarding designing JITAI interventions: the burden on participants in having to be engaged with the intervention through diaries, self-reports, and other forms of assessment procedures daily. To reduce this burden, we first pilot test an interactive narrative form. An interactive narrative is an essential form of storytelling that involves certain interactive features such that audiences or readers of the story can have the feeling that they are actively engaging in certain forms of interactions with the story characters. To test the efficacy of such an intervention, there will be a one-month three-arm clinical control trial to reduce depressive rumination. There are three conditions: a JITAI interactive narrative condition, a non-narrative JTIAI condition, and a wait-list control condition. This study could contribute to our knowledge in designing more effective interventions in curbing depression using mobile technology. It can also advance our theoretical knowledge of the role of interactive narratives in reducing user burden in mobile health.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALMobile-phone delivered Treatment for Excessive Rumination

This is a one-month three-arm clinical control trial to reduce the rumination and interpersonal impairment link.

Sponsors

University of Southern California
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

Participant blind to condition assigned to (compared to alternatives), assignment is automatic/random via computer so investigator blind to participant assignment; analyst is blind to meaning of condition codes.

Intervention model description

There are three conditions: a JITAI interactive narrative condition, a JITAI non-narrative condition, and a wait-list control condition.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Participants who have a current self-reported clinical diagnosis of being depressed ( mild to moderate depression and major depressive disorder) * Participants should be 18 or older. * Participants should have a working smartphone and daily access to the internet.

Exclusion criteria

-Participants who do not have regular access to the internet and a smart phones will be excluded.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Depressive Symptoms (baseline and two weeks after intervention.)Change in depressive symptoms at the baseline and two weeks after the intervention (measured baseline, immediate-post intervention, and two-week follow-up).a 3-item scale in which participants rated their level of depressed mood, anhedonia, and irritability on 7-point Likert scales ranging from 1 (Not at all) to 7 (Very much) at the time of the alert. The SDS is in part modeled after a scale used in a previous EMA study of rumination and depression (Moberly & Watkins, 2008a). The scale was presented as a slider bar on participants' smartphones.
Change in Heart-rate (baseline and two weeks after intervention.)Change in heart rates at the baseline and two weeks after the intervention (measured baseline, immediate-post intervention, and two-week follow-up).Participants self-report their heart-rate by using a moblie phone app by the name of Instant Heart rate (see example outcome report: https://www.azumio.com/heartrate/report.jsp?token=28928192047-28935807244-3eb659-334dc9f600fc7084f8cda95b135396673b2bd118-1588095873083#)
Change in Depressive Symptoms ( baseline and immediately after intervention)Change in depressive symptoms at the baseline and immediate-post intervention .(measured baseline, immediate-post intervention, and two-week follow-up)a 3-item scale in which participants rated their level of depressed mood, anhedonia, and irritability on 7-point Likert scales ranging from 1 (Not at all) to 7 (Very much) at the time of the alert. The SDS is in part modeled after a scale used in a previous EMA study of rumination and depression (Moberly & Watkins, 2008a). The scale was presented as a slider bar on participants' smartphones.
Change in Rumination focus ( immediately after intervention)Change in Rumination focus at the baseline and immediate-post intervention (measured baseline, immediate-post intervention, and two-week follow-up).Momentary Ruminative Self-Focus Inventory-Abbreviated (MRSI-A). The MRSI is a 6-item questionnaire measuring state-level fluctuations in ruminative self-focus. Each item ranges from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 7 (Strongly agree).
Change in Rumination focus ( two weeks after intervention)Change in Rumination focus at the baseline and two weeks after the intervention (measured baseline, immediate-post intervention, and two-week follow-up).Momentary Ruminative Self-Focus Inventory-Abbreviated (MRSI-A). The MRSI is a 6-item questionnaire measuring state-level fluctuations in ruminative self-focus. Each item ranges from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 7 (Strongly agree).
Change in Heart-rate( baseline and immediately after intervention)Change in heart rates at the baseline and immediate-post intervention .(measured baseline, immediate-post intervention, and two-week follow-up)Participants self-report their heart-rate by using a moblie phone app by the name of Instant Heart rate (see example outcome report: https://www.azumio.com/heartrate/report.jsp?token=28928192047-28935807244-3eb659-334dc9f600fc7084f8cda95b135396673b2bd118-1588095873083#)

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Ruminative symptom (baseline and two weeks after intervention.)Change in ruminative symptoms at the baseline and two weeks after the intervention (measured baseline, immediate-post intervention, and two-week follow-up).To measure this, we will use the ruminative response scale (RRS), a self-report measure of describing one's responses to depressed mood. It has 22 items, ranging from 1 (not like me at all) to 7 (A lot like me).
Change in Ruminative symptom ( baseline and immediately after intervention)Change in ruminative symptoms at the baseline and two weeks after the intervention (measured baseline, immediate-post intervention, and two-week follow-up).To measure this, we will use the ruminative response scale (RRS), a self-report measure of describing one's responses to depressed mood. It has 22 items, ranging from 1 (not like me at all) to 7 (A lot like me).

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 11, 2026