A Relational Agent Intervention for Adolescents Seeking Mental Health Treatment: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Author:

Chiauzzi EmilORCID,Robinson AthenaORCID,Martin KateORCID,Petersen CarlORCID,Wells NicoleORCID,Williams AndreORCID,Gleason Mary MargaretORCID

Abstract

Background Unmet pediatric mental health (MH) needs are growing as rates of pediatric depression and anxiety dramatically increase. Access to care is limited by multiple factors, including a shortage of clinicians trained in developmentally specific, evidence-based services. Novel approaches to MH care delivery, including technology-leveraged and readily accessible options, need to be evaluated in service of expanding evidence-based services to youths and their families. Preliminary evidence supports the use of Woebot, a relational agent that digitally delivers guided cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) through a mobile app, for adults with MH concerns. However, no studies have evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of such app-delivered relational agents specifically for adolescents with depression and/or anxiety within an outpatient MH clinic, nor compared them to other MH support services. Objective This paper describes the protocol for a randomized controlled trial evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of an investigational device, Woebot for Adolescents (W-GenZD), within an outpatient MH clinic for youths presenting with depression and/or anxiety. The study’s secondary aim will compare the clinical outcomes of self-reported depressive symptoms with W-GenZD and a telehealth-delivered CBT-based skills group (CBT-group). Tertiary aims will evaluate additional clinical outcomes and therapeutic alliance between adolescents in W-GenZD and the CBT-group. Methods Participants include youths aged 13-17 years with depression and/or anxiety seeking care from an outpatient MH clinic at a children’s hospital. Eligible youths will have no recent safety concerns or complex comorbid clinical diagnoses; have no concurrent individual therapy; and, if on medications, are on stable doses, based on clinical screening and as well as study-specific criteria. Results Recruitment began in May 2022. As of December 8, 2022, we have randomized 133 participants. Conclusions Establishing the feasibility and acceptability of W-GenZD within an outpatient MH clinical setting will add to the field’s current understanding of the utility and implementation considerations of this MH care service modality. The study will also evaluate the noninferiority of W-GenZD against the CBT-group. Findings may also have implications for patients, families, and providers looking for additional MH support options for adolescents seeking help for their depression and/or anxiety. Such options expand the menu of supports for youths with lower-intensity needs as well as possibly reduce waitlists and optimize clinician deployment toward more severe cases. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05372913; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05372913 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/44940

Publisher

JMIR Publications Inc.

Subject

General Medicine

Reference38 articles.

1. AAP-AACAP-CHA Declaration of a National Emergency in Child and Adolescent Mental HealthAmerican Academy of Pediatrics202110192022-10-21http://www.aap.org/en/advocacy/child-and-adolescent-healthy-mental-development/aap-aacap-cha-declaration-of-a-national-emergency-in-child-and-adolescent-mental-health/

2. Office of the U.S. Surgeon GeneralProtecting youth mental health: the U.S. Surgeon General's AdvisoryU.S. Department of Health & Human Services20212022-10-21https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-youth-mental-health-advisory.pdf

3. Global Prevalence of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Children and Adolescents During COVID-19

4. Guidelines for Adolescent Depression in Primary Care (GLAD-PC): Part II. Treatment and Ongoing Management

5. Consequences and Correlates of Adolescent Depression

Cited by 3 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. Integrating Digital Therapeutics With Mental Healthcare Delivery;Journal of Health Service Psychology;2024-05

2. Clinical Applications of AI in Post-Cancer Rehabilitation;2024 2nd International Conference on Cyber Resilience (ICCR);2024-02-26

3. Empathy-Based communication Framework for Chatbots: A Mental Health Chatbot Application and Evaluation;International Conference on Human-Agent Interaction;2023-12-04

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3