CClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT05243264Updated Sep 9, 2022

Empower@Home: A Feasibility Pilot

An interventional study of Empower@Home in Depression, sponsored by University of Michigan. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 60 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-09-09.

Sponsored by University of Michigan · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
10
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
60 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This is an open pilot feasibility study of a novel internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy program for older adults with elevated depressive symptoms. This study will enroll approximately 15 older adults throughout the state of Michigan to better understand the feasibility of the intervention and to probe preliminary effects. The intervention will take approximately 10 weeks to complete. Participants will have lower levels of depression after completing the intervention than before enrollment. Participants will be able to use the internet-based platform with minimal support.

Read the detailed description

Depression affects up to 40% of homebound seniors. The purpose of this research project is to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a novel internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) program called Empower@Home. Our team developed Empower@Home collaboratively with older adult stakeholders and social service providers. It is the first iCBT program tailored for low-income racially diverse homebound seniors. It has the potential to reduce access barriers to mental health services among this high-need population. Although Empower@Home is based on an evidence-based mental health treatment (i.e., CBT), it is a novel intervention and has not yet been tested with human subjects. This is a pilot study that involves testing the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of the intervention with a single group of participants in an open trial. No randomization will occur. All eligible participants who consent will receive the intervention. A total of15 older adults will be recruited to participate in this study. All of them will be recruited through referrals from 2 to 3 social service agencies on this list (The Information Center, Region 2 Area Agency on Aging (AAA), Senior Resources, and A \& D home care). The intervention involves attending up to 10 pre-recorded online therapy sessions and receiving weekly maintenance calls from trained research assistants for up to 12 weeks. Participants will engage in therapy at their private homes. A comprehensive baseline and post-test will be administered either over the phone or via an online survey, depending on the participants' preference. No in-person interaction between the participants and the research team is anticipated during the active treatment phase unless intervention is warranted for subjects' safety. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected and analyzed.

02

Conditions studied

  • Depression

Keywords

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
  • Older Adults
  • Internet-Based Intervention
  • Depression
  • Social Isolation
03

In context

Depression

8,055 studies on the registry are indexed under Depression; 1,643 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 10 is below the median of 84 across 6,718 interventional studies indexed under Depression.

Browse Depression studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Michigan is the lead sponsor of 1,475 studies on the registry; 196 are open to participants now.

Of its 162 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 128 (79%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
60 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. ≥60 years
  2. have at least mild depressive symptoms, based on PHQ-9 >=5
  3. are willing to participate

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Currently receiving CBT or iCBT
  2. Probable cognitive impairment based on the Blessed Orientation, Memory, and Concentration scale (score >= 10).
  3. They do not speak English
  4. have active suicidal ideation (any positive response on the 9th item of PHQ-9)
  5. Have a terminal illness or unstable physical health with a high risk of hospitalization within the next 3 months
  6. Severe hearing or vision problems that prevent them from using a tablet/computer or viewing online content
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
10 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Internet-Based Program

    Participants will be provided with access to a 10-session online program and will receive supportive remote assistance throughout regarding technical and programmatic issues.

    Behavioral: Empower@Home

Interventions

  • BehavioralEmpower@Home

    The intervention is a 10-week course of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy. During the active intervention phase, participants will receive a weekly check-in call to see how they are doing. The weekly check-in call is intended to be brief and last no more than 10 minutes on average.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)

    Change in 9 item standardized measures of depressive symptom severity

    Time frame: Change from Baseline PHQ-9 at 12 weeks

  2. Modified Treatment Evaluation Inventory

    11-item Likert scale relating to acceptability of program to participant modified for older adults and the study context

    Time frame: 12 weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment-7 (GAD-7)

    Change in 7-item standardized measure for severity of anxiety symptoms

    Time frame: Change from Baseline at 12 weeks

  2. Change in Duke Social Support Index (DSSI)-10

    Change in 10 item standardized measure for social interaction and satisfaction with social support

    Time frame: Change from Baseline at 12 weeks

  3. Change in PROMISE-SI

    Change in 8 item standardized measure for feelings of loneliness

    Time frame: Change from Baseline at 12 weeks

07

Study locations

1 site
  • University of Michigan
    Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 9, 2022, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05243264
Lead sponsor
University of Michigan
Responsible party
Xiaoling Xiang (Assistant Professor, University of Michigan) — Principal investigator
First posted
Feb 17, 2022
Start date
Feb 28, 2022
Primary completion
Jul 30, 2022
Completion
Aug 30, 2022
Last update
Sep 9, 2022

Study contacts

Xiaoling Xiang, PHD
principal investigator · University of Michigan

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Sep 2022. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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