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The Exhale Study: Treating Maternal Depression in an Urban Pediatric Asthma Clinic

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Asthma in Children
Depression
Interventions
Behavioral: Enhanced Brief Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Behavioral: Supplemented Usual Care
Registration Number
NCT06623981
Lead Sponsor
Children's National Research Institute
Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effectiveness and implementation of delivering Enhanced Brief Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT-B), an evidence-based maternal depression treatment, to mothers of children aged 4-11 years in an urban pediatric asthma clinic. Researchers will compare Enhanced IPT-B and supplemented usual care (brief care coordination). The main questions the trial aims to answer are:

1. Does Enhanced IPT-B decrease maternal depressive symptoms?

2. Does Enhanced IPT-B improve child asthma management and health outcomes (exacerbations, symptoms, control)?

3. What are the preliminary implementation outcomes of delivering Enhanced IPT-B in an urban pediatric asthma clinic?

Detailed Description

The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness and implementation of Brief Enhanced Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT-B), an evidence-based treatment for maternal depression, delivered in an urban pediatric asthma clinic. This study is a pilot Hybrid Type 1 Effectiveness-Implementation, single-blinded, prospective randomized controlled trial. A parallel two-group design will be used to evaluate the impact of the intervention (Enhanced IPT-B) among a sample of 48 Black mothers of children aged 4-11 years with asthma. Mothers with clinically significant depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 10) will be identified in the asthma clinic through routine depression screening during the child's visit and recruited to participate in the study if they meet eligibility criteria. Following the informed consent process, mothers randomized to the intervention group will receive Enhanced IPT-B. Enhanced IPT-B consists of a single, 45-60-minute pre-treatment engagement session followed by eight weekly, 45-minute individual psychotherapy sessions carried out by a licensed mental health clinician within an 8-12-week timeframe. Mothers randomized to the comparison group will receive Supplemented Usual Care which involves short-term care coordination to access community mental health resources. Data on maternal mental health, child asthma management and outcomes, and child mental health will be collected from mothers and children at baseline, 3 months post-baseline, and 6 months post-baseline. Data on implementation outcomes will be collected from mothers and asthma clinic leadership and staff. Quantitative and qualitative data analysis strategies will be utilized to answer the research questions.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
60
Inclusion Criteria

Maternal:

  • Primary caregiver of the child with asthma seen at the community-based asthma clinic
  • Female (self-identified)
  • Black (self-identified)
  • ≥ 18 years of age
  • English-speaking
  • PHQ-9 ≥ 10 during standardized screening at the child with asthma's clinic visit

Child:

  • Ages 4-11 years
  • Publicly insured
  • Physician-diagnosed persistent asthma
Exclusion Criteria

Maternal:

  • Acutely suicidal (high risk on the C-SSRS at child's asthma clinic visit)
  • Bipolar disorder or mania
  • Schizophrenia
  • Current substance abuse/dependence
  • Current serious physical intimate partner violence (IPV)

Child:

  • Significant medical co-morbidity (e.g., disorders of the cardiorespiratory system, significant developmental delay, diabetes, seizure disorder, and sickle cell disease)
  • Enrolled in another intervention with a behavioral component and/or novel asthma therapeutics

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Enhanced IPT-BEnhanced Brief Interpersonal PsychotherapyEnhanced Brief Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Supplemented Usual CareSupplemented Usual CareShort-term care coordination
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Maternal depressive symptomsT2 (3 months post-baseline)

≥ 50% reduction in depressive symptoms on the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) at T2. The PHQ-9 score ranges from 0-27, with higher scores indicating more depressive symptoms. This variable will be dichotomized into 50% or greater reduction in depressive symptoms vs. less than 50% reduction in depressive symptoms from T1 to T2.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Clinically significant maternal depressive symptomsT2 (3 months post-baseline)

9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) score less than 10 (i.e., not clinically significant) at T2. The PHQ-9 score ranges from 0-27, with higher scores indicating more depressive symptoms. A score of 10 or more indicates clinically significant symptoms. This variable will be dichotomized into clinically significant and not clinically significant.

Child asthma exacerbationsT3 (6 months post-baseline)

Number of asthma exacerbations requiring steroids in the past 6 months

Child asthma symptomsT2 (3 months post-baseline), T3 (6 months post-baseline)

Mother-reported number of child asthma symptom-free days during the prior 14 days

AcceptabilityT2 (3 months post-baseline)

Mean treatment satisfaction survey score on the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire

MaintenanceT3 (6 months post-baseline)

Percentage of enrolled mothers who remain in the study

Maternal anxiety symptomsT2 (3-months post-baseline) and T3 (6months post-baseline)

Scores on the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder sale (GAD-7). Scores range from 0-21, with higher scores indicating more anxiety.

Asthma managementT2 (3 months post-baseline)

Summary score on the Family Asthma Management System Scale (FAMSS), a clinical interview that assesses how well the family system manages the asthma of the child. The interview is recorded and rated on eight 9-point subscales that tap the various domains of asthma management, with higher scores indicating better management.

Maternal PTSD symptomsT2 (3 months post-baseline) and T3 (6 months post-baseline)

Score on the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), a validated self-report measure of PTSD symptoms in adults. Scores on the PCL-5 range from 0-80, with higher scores indicating more PTSD symptoms.

Child depressive symptomsT2 (3 months post-baseline) and T3 (6 months post-baseline)

Mother report of child depressive symptoms on the PROMIS Parent Proxy Depressive Symptoms v3.0- Short Form 6a. Raw scores on the measure range from 6-30, with higher scores indicating more depressive symptoms.

Child anxiety symptomsT2 (3 months post-baseline) and T3 (6 months post-baseline)

Mother report of child anxiety symptoms on the PROMIS Parent Proxy Short Form GenPop v3.0 - Anxiety 8a. Raw scores on the measure range from 8-40, with higher scores indicating more anxiety symptoms.

Child asthma controlT2 (3 months post-baseline), T3 (6 months post-baseline)

Dichotomized score on the Child Asthma Control Test where ACT ≥ 20 indicates controlled asthma and ACT less than 20 indicates uncontrolled asthma.

ReachT1 (Baseline)

The number and proportion of eligible mothers recruited into the study

FeasibilityT2 (3 months post-baseline)

Percentage of mothers who complete at least 7 sessions of the intervention (Enhanced IPT-B)

SatisfactionT2 (3 months post-baseline)

Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with at least one third of Enhanced IPT-B participants to assess intervention satisfaction.

Staff-reported implementation outcomesAt the end of year 2

Semi-structure qualitative interviews with asthma clinic staff and leadership to assess adoption, acceptability, and maintenance of the intervention.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Children's National Hospital

🇺🇸

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

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