Frontiers in Public Health (Oct 2015)
A web delivered intervention for depression combining Behavioural Activation with physical activity promotion: study protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial
Abstract
Background: Physical activity (PA) yields moderate effect sizes for treating depression (Cooney et al., 2013). PA may also help reduce depressive relapse, providing additional psychological benefits such as positive self-regard and a sense of competence (Babyak et al., 2000). Behavioural Activation (BA) is an evidence-based psychological therapy for depression, which aims to get people more engaged with activities that provide positive reinforcement for non-depressed behaviours (Hopko, Lejuez, LePage, Hopko, & McNeil, 2003). The structured nature of BA is consistent with the use of good behaviour change techniques (specific goal-setting, self-regulation) offering a potential platform for promoting PA alongside depression treatment. BA may also be useful for gradually increasing PA in people who are more sedentary than the general population. Aims: This pilot randomised controlled trial aims to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity of a web-delivered intervention combining BA and PA (eBAcPAc) to enhance mental and physical health, and assess the trial methods. Method: A community sample of 120 people exhibiting symptoms of depression and who are participating in less than 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week will be randomized to receive eBAcPAc or be put on a wait list control group. eBAcPAc is informed by previous work (Farrand et al., 2014; Pentecost et al., 2015) and further developed using the Centre for eHealth Research and Disease management Roadmap (CeHReS) (van Gemert-Pijnen et al., 2011) in order to be applied in an web-based setting. A platform hosted by the University of Glasgow which has been used to deliver a wide range of successful web-delivered interventions for mental health, will be used to deliver eBAcPAc. Feasibility measures will include data on recruitment, attrition and acceptability. Pre-post outcome measures will include the PHQ-9, and self-reported and accelerometer measured PA. Process and fidelity measures will also be taken. Results: Preliminary results relating to recruitment and engagement will be reported. Results will be used to answer key questions relating to feasibility, acceptability and fidelity to inform a larger scale trial. Conclusion: This study will add to the body of literature exploring the utility of prescribing PA for depression along with adding to the emerging research investigating web-based delivery systems for depression and PA.
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