Assessment of Whether Telehealth Family Psychoeducation for Major Depressive Disorder is Doable
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Family psychoeducation.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Australia
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Feasibility Study of Telehealth Family Psychoeducation for Major Depressive Disorder
Overview
The goal of this single-arm interventional study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of co-designed telehealth family psychoeducation (FPE) among individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and families. The study will also assess the intervention's preliminary impact on personal recovery, antidepressant medication adherence, depression severity, and medication necessity beliefs and concerns. The main questions it aims to answer are: * What are patients', families', and mental health professionals' views about telehealth FPE for MDD? * What are the feasibility and acceptability of telehealth FPE for MDD among individuals with MDD and their families? * What is the preliminary impact of telehealth FPE for MDD on personal recovery, antidepressant medication adherence, depression severity, and medication necessity beliefs and concerns? Study participants will include individuals with MDD who have prescriptions for antidepressant medications and their family members. Participants will receive three biweekly FPE sessions and a six-week follow-up session via telehealth using a single-family format. The study intervention, telehealth family psychoeducation for MDD, will cover structured modules to enhance participants' understanding of MDD and its treatment, coping strategies, and self-efficacy skills. It will also focus on recognising early signs of relapse and empowering participants to engage in treatment decision-making actively. Hence, the study intervention is termed the Supportive Program for Advancing Recovery, Knowledge, and Empowerment in Depression (SPARKED). At baseline, post-intervention, and follow-up, participants with MDD will complete self-reported measures for personal recovery, antidepressant medication adherence, depression severity, and medication necessity beliefs and concerns. In contrast, their family members or caregivers will complete only an outcome measure for medication necessity beliefs and concerns.
Interventions
- Other Family psychoeducation
The study intervention, tagged SPARKED (Supportive Program for Advancing Recovery, Knowledge, and Empowerment in Depression), is a co-designed family-based psychoeducational intervention for individuals with MDD and their family members or caregivers. The intervention will cover structured modules to enhance participants' understanding of MDD and its treatment, coping strategies, and self-efficacy skills. It will also focus on recognising early signs of relapse and empowering participants to eng
Primary outcome measures
- Recruitment rate [Time frame: Three months beginning on the date the feasibility study flyer is displayed.]
- Retention [Time frame: Across the entire trial period, from enrolment to six-week follow-up.]
- Outcome measure return rate [Time frame: From enrolment to the end of six-week follow-up.]
- Outcome measure completion rate [Time frame: From enrolment to the end of the six-week follow-up.]
- Prospective acceptability [Time frame: During the recruitment period, lasting approximately three months.]
- Concurrent acceptability [Time frame: From the first biweekly session to the end of the six-week follow-up]
- Retrospective acceptability. [Time frame: At six-week follow-up.]
Secondary outcome measures (4)
- Personal recovery among study participants with MDD [Time frame: At baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1), and 6-week follow-up (T2)]
- Depressive symptoms among participants with MDD [Time frame: At baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1), and 6-week follow-up (T2).]
- Antidepressant medication adherence among participants with MDD [Time frame: At baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1), and 6-week follow-up (T2)]
- Medication necessity beliefs and concerns among participants with MDD and their family members [Time frame: At baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1), and 6-week follow-up (T2)]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- An individual (aged 18 years or older) with a diagnosis of MDD who has a prescription for at least one antidepressant medication for treating MDD
- The individual has a family member, family caregiver, or significant other (aged 18 years or older) who plays a role in supporting the individual at home
- Both the individual with MDD and their support person have basic English language skills, enabling them to engage in family psychoeducational sessions and respond to self-report outcome measures.
- Both the individual with MDD and their support person voluntarily consent to participate in the study.
Exclusion criteria
- An individual (aged 18 years or older) who does not have a prescription for at least one antidepressant medication for treating MDD
- An individual (aged 18 years or older) with MDD whose family member, caregiver, or significant other could not participate in the study
- An individual (aged 18 years or older) with MDD who has high or imminent suicide risk
- An individual with MDD who has other serious mental or physical illnesses, cognitive impairment, or hearing impairment without a hearing aid
- A family member, caregiver, or significant other to an individual with MDD who does not consent to participate in the study
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- N/A
- Model
- Single group
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
Study locations
Australia · 2 centers
- Bakewell Medical Centre — Bakewell
- Palmerston Medical Clinic — Palmerston
Publications
- Obieche O, Tan JB, Sharma S, Bressington D, Wang T. Telehealth Family Psychoeducation for Major Depressive Disorder: A Protocol for Intervention Co-Design and Feasibility Study. Nurs Rep. 2025 Oct 11;15(10):364. doi: 10.3390/nursrep15100364. PMID 41149679
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07014241 · HREC 2025-5059