RT Journal Article
T1 Cognitive behavioral intervention via a smartphone app for non-professional caregivers with depressive symptoms: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
A1 Vázquez González, Fernando Lino
A1 Torres Iglesias, Ángela J.
A1 Díaz Fernández, Olga
A1 Páramo Fernández, Mario
A1 Otero Otero, Patricia
A1 Blanco Seoane, Vanessa
A1 López Ares, Lara
K1 Non-professional caregivers
K1 App
K1 Smartphone
K1 Depression
K1 Prevention
K1 Adherence to the intervention
K1 Study protocol
AB BackgroundAlthough major depression is a frequent disorder in non-professional caregivers and there are effective psychological interventions to prevent it, caregivers have difficulty accessing them. Interventions for depression applied through an app could improve accessibility; yet, to date, adherence to such interventions has been low. The objectives of this study are to (1) evaluate the efficacy of a cognitive behavioral depression prevention intervention administered through a smartphone app with and without telephone conference calls, (2) analyze the mediators of the change in the incidence of depression and depressive symptoms, and (3) assess adherence and satisfaction with the interventions.MethodsA randomized controlled clinical trial will be conducted. Caregivers with elevated symptoms will be randomly assigned to a cognitive behavioral intervention administered by a smartphone app (CBIA) group, a CBIA plus telephone conference calls (TCCs) group (CBIA + TCC), or an attention control group. Each condition will consist of approximately 58 participants. Both interventions will be administered in five modules through a smartphone app and the CBIA + TCC group will receive additional TCCs in group format (four sessions of 30 min each). Trained blind assessors will conduct pre-treatment, post-treatment and follow-up assessments at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months.DiscussionThis study will provide evidence of the efficacy of a cognitive behavioral intervention to prevent depression in caregivers with elevated depressive symptoms administered through a smartphone app and the impact of feedback applied through conference calls to increase program adherence and efficacy. If the results were favorable, it would mean that we have developed a more effective, accessible, and clinically useful preventive depression intervention than the currently available ones for many present and future caregivers
PB BMC
SN 1745-6215
YR 2018
FD 2018
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/22198
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/22198
LA eng
NO Vázquez, F.L., Torres, Á., Díaz, O. et al. Cognitive behavioral intervention via a smartphone app for non-professional caregivers with depressive symptoms: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials 19, 414 (2018)
NO This study is funded by grant PSI2016–79041-P from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of Spain
DS Minerva
RD 28 abr 2026