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Improving the Treatment of Depression Among Youth With HIV

Improving the Treatment of Depression Among Youth With HIV

Status
Not yet recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07211087
Enrollment
130
Registered
2025-10-07
Start date
2026-04-01
Completion date
2029-07-01
Last updated
2026-02-27

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

Conditions

Depression Disorders, HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)

Brief summary

Depression is a common psychiatric condition among Youth with HIV (YWH), with prevalence as high as 25% in the United States. The treatment of depression is essential for improving both psychiatric and medical outcomes for YWH (e.g., adherence to antiretroviral treatment). Practice guidelines for the treatment of depression and substantial research (including for those with and without HIV), indicate that measured-care treatment (care decisions guided by systematic symptom measurement) and using a combination of a medication management algorithm (MMA) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that is tailored to the population is efficacious. Unfortunately, these methods are seldom fully implemented in practice, leading to markedly reduced intervention effectiveness. This proposed project will compare an enhanced version of combination treatment (COMBEX) to our previously tested combination treatment (COMB) in a Hybrid Type 2 Cluster Randomized Trial. COMBEX will be enhanced by five ERIC implementation strategies as suggested in our post-trial interviews from our efficacy trial and it will also continue to use the ERIC strategies used in COMB. It is hypothesized that these additional ERIC strategies will improve sustainability and depression outcomes at 48 and 72 weeks.

Detailed description

Depression is a common psychiatric condition among Youth with HIV (YWH), with prevalence as high as 25% in the United States. The treatment of depression is essential for improving both psychiatric and medical outcomes for YWH (e.g., adherence to antiretroviral treatment). Practice guidelines for the treatment of depression and substantial research (including for those with and without HIV), indicate that measured-care treatment (care decisions guided by systematic symptom measurement) and using a combination of a medication management algorithm (MMA) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that is tailored to the population is efficacious. Unfortunately, these methods are seldom fully implemented in practice, leading to markedly reduced intervention effectiveness. This proposed project will compare an enhanced version of combination treatment (COMBEX) to our previously tested combination treatment (COMB) in a Hybrid Type 2 Cluster Randomized Trial. COMBEX will be enhanced by five ERIC implementation strategies as suggested in our post-trial interviews from our efficacy trial and it will also continue to use the ERIC strategies used in COMB. It is hypothesized that these additional ERIC strategies will improve sustainability and depression outcomes at 48 and 72 weeks. The specific co-primary aims of this proposed study are to: 1. Test the effectiveness COMBEX (with its additional ERIC strategies) compared to COMB on the implementation outcomes of adoption, fidelity, and sustainability. 2. Evaluate, using a cluster randomized design, the impact of COMBEX compared to COMB in improving real-world effectiveness of reducing indices of depression (e.g., symptoms, treatment response, remission) and decreasing the viral load (VL) among 130 YWH in eight HIV care clinics over 72 weeks. 3. Use an explanatory, sequential, mixed-method approach to evaluate the context of implementation, for both COMB and COMBEX, guided by the sustainability framework with data from staff/clinicians (n=64).

Interventions

BEHAVIORALCOMBEX

The intervention (COMBEX) is a combined approach to routine psychotherapy (including CBT and medication management) with additional ERIC strategies incorporated.

BEHAVIORALCOMB

COMB is a combined approach to routine psychotherapy (including CBT and medication management).

Sponsors

Rhode Island Hospital
Lead SponsorOTHER
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
CollaboratorNIH

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)

Intervention model description

Hybrid Type 2 Cluster Randomized Trial

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
15 Years to 24 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* aged 15- 24 years * engaged in care at a participating HIV care site * have documented HIV-1 confirmed by medical records * a diagnosis as determined by a site clinician of nonpsychotic depression requiring treatment \[either Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Depression not otherwise specified, or Dysthymia as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) * significant symptomatology at Entry (as defined by the PHQ-9) * aware of their HIV status as determined by site staff * English-speaking * able and willing to provide written informed assent/consent and written parental or guardian permission

Exclusion criteria

* by site review, have a history of any psychotic disorders and/or Bipolar I or II Disorder * have of a severe alcohol or substance dependence according to DSM-V or had moderate symptoms and are experiencing withdrawal or dependence symptoms within the month prior to enrollment * have depression and/or suicidal ideation requiring more intensive services * intend to relocate from the study site; 5) are in therapy with a non-study therapist (unless willing to switch to a study-trained therapist) * if they are in imminent danger to themselves or others. If wards of the state meet all eligibility requirements, they will be eligible if the state allows them to participate in research. Otherwise, they will be excluded.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)Assessed at baseline and Weeks 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72Self-reported depression symptoms score

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
HIV viral loadMeasured at baseline and Weeks 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72Quantitative VL levels (copies/mL) will be abstracted from the medical records

Contacts

CONTACTLarry K Brown, MD
lkbrown@brownhealth.org(401)-793-8808
CONTACTGraham Emslie, MD
Graham.Emslie@UTSouthwestern.edu214-456-5918
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORLarry K Brown, MD

Rhode Island Hospital

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jul 19, 2026