An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Simple Marketing Intervention in Changing Student Attitudes to Depression
Primary Purpose
Depression
Status
Completed
Phase
Not Applicable
Locations
United Kingdom
Study Type
Interventional
Intervention
Health education information
Sponsored by
About this trial
This is an interventional educational/counseling/training trial for Depression focused on measuring Depression, Students, Health education
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: Undergraduate students at Oxford University Exclusion Criteria: Postgraduate students Students at the excluded colleges
Sites / Locations
- University of Oxford
Outcomes
Primary Outcome Measures
The primary outcome was the proportion of participants responding positively to the question 'Can depression be effectively treated?'
Secondary Outcome Measures
Secondary outcomes included the correct identification of the symptoms of depression and the effectiveness of certain treatments.
Full Information
NCT ID
NCT00122083
First Posted
July 18, 2005
Last Updated
July 25, 2005
Sponsor
University of Oxford
Collaborators
Pfizer, Wyeth is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer
1. Study Identification
Unique Protocol Identification Number
NCT00122083
Brief Title
An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Simple Marketing Intervention in Changing Student Attitudes to Depression
Official Title
A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial to Assess the Effectiveness of a Simple Marketing Intervention in Changing Student Attitudes to Depression
Study Type
Interventional
2. Study Status
Record Verification Date
March 2004
Overall Recruitment Status
Completed
Study Start Date
April 2004 (undefined)
Primary Completion Date
undefined (undefined)
Study Completion Date
June 2004 (undefined)
3. Sponsor/Collaborators
Name of the Sponsor
University of Oxford
Collaborators
Pfizer, Wyeth is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Pfizer
4. Oversight
5. Study Description
Brief Summary
The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of a simple marketing intervention in changing attitudes towards depression and its treatment among university students.
Detailed Description
Depression is a major public health problem. It is common, affecting approximately 10 percent of the United Kingdom (UK) community at any one time. Britain's student population is particularly at risk.
Knowledge of effective treatments for depression is burgeoning thanks to a rapid increase in the quantity and quality of relevant research. Regardless of these advances, depression is still under-reported (Freeling et al., 1985) and general practitioners often fail to diagnose it.
When depression is correctly diagnosed, most patients in primary care will receive a prescription for an antidepressant. However, some patients will not have the prescription dispensed, and most will not complete the full recommended course. Compliance with psychological treatments is also a problem.
Study Design:
Pilot work: The intervention consisted of mailing (to each undergraduate student's pigeon-hole) a pack of 4 postcards which provided brief information on depression in an attractive format. One postcard summarised information on depression as an illness; one summarised information on the causes of depression; one summarised information on the treatment of depression; and one summarised information on how to seek help for depression. Prior to the trial, the drafts were revised through feedback from a focus group of 5 students, who discussed the design and content of the draft postcards. The focus group participants were recruited from the Queen's College, as this college did not participate in the trial. The focus group contributed to the revision of the draft questionnaire.
The trial: The design was a cluster, randomised, controlled trial. Individual Oxford University colleges which accept undergraduate students were the units of randomisation. Twenty-eight colleges were randomised. Permanent private halls and postgraduate colleges were excluded, as was the Queen's College (due to it being the lead investigator's college) and Harris Manchester College (a college for mature students).
Half of the randomised colleges received no intervention; the other half received the intervention.
A questionnaire was administered before and after the intervention to half of the undergraduate students in each of the colleges. The same questionnaire was used for both time points. Questions addressed knowledge of, and attitudes towards:
depression as an illness;
symptoms of depression;
treatment for depression;
sources of help for depression.
6. Conditions and Keywords
Primary Disease or Condition Being Studied in the Trial, or the Focus of the Study
Depression
Keywords
Depression, Students, Health education
7. Study Design
Primary Purpose
Educational/Counseling/Training
Study Phase
Not Applicable
Interventional Study Model
Parallel Assignment
Masking
None (Open Label)
Allocation
Randomized
Enrollment
1680 (false)
8. Arms, Groups, and Interventions
Intervention Type
Device
Intervention Name(s)
Health education information
Primary Outcome Measure Information:
Title
The primary outcome was the proportion of participants responding positively to the question 'Can depression be effectively treated?'
Secondary Outcome Measure Information:
Title
Secondary outcomes included the correct identification of the symptoms of depression and the effectiveness of certain treatments.
10. Eligibility
Sex
All
Minimum Age & Unit of Time
0 Years
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
Undergraduate students at Oxford University
Exclusion Criteria:
Postgraduate students
Students at the excluded colleges
Overall Study Officials:
First Name & Middle Initial & Last Name & Degree
John Geddes
Organizational Affiliation
University of Oxford
Official's Role
Principal Investigator
Facility Information:
Facility Name
University of Oxford
City
Oxford
State/Province
Oxfordshire
ZIP/Postal Code
OX1 3JX
Country
United Kingdom
12. IPD Sharing Statement
Citations:
PubMed Identifier
9742909
Citation
Birrer RB. Depression and aging too often do mix. Postgrad Med. 1998 Sep;104(3):143-9, 153-4, 163-4. doi: 10.3810/pgm.1998.09.580.
Results Reference
background
PubMed Identifier
3924297
Citation
Freeling P, Rao BM, Paykel ES, Sireling LI, Burton RH. Unrecognised depression in general practice. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1985 Jun 22;290(6485):1880-3.
Results Reference
background
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An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Simple Marketing Intervention in Changing Student Attitudes to Depression
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