TY - JOUR
T1 - Recruiting for a Randomized Clinical Trial for Late-Life Depression During COVID-19
T2 - Outcomes of Provider Referrals Versus Facebook Self-Referrals
AU - Ainsworth, Nicholas J.
AU - Wright, Hailey
AU - Tereshchenko, Ksenya
AU - Blumberger, Daniel M.
AU - Flint, Alastair J.
AU - Lenze, Eric J.
AU - Perivolaris, Athina
AU - Mulsant, Benoit H.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for the OPTIMUM trial includes grant support from the Patient-Centred Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) TRD-1511-33321 and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 3R01MH114980-03S1 .
Funding Information:
Dr. Ainsworth receives salary support from the University of British Columbia Clinician Investigator Program. Dr. Blumberger receives research support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), National Institutes of Health – U.S. (NIH), Brain Canada Foundation and the Temerty Family through the CAMH Foundation and the Campbell Family Research Institute. He received research support and in-kind equipment support for an investigator-initiated study from Brainsway Ltd. and he was the site principal investigator for three sponsor-initiated studies for Brainsway Ltd. He received in-kind equipment support from Magventure for investigator-initiated studies. He received medication supplies for an investigator-initiated trial from Indivior. He has participated in an advisory board for Janssen. He has participated in an advisory board for Welcony Inc. Dr. Flint has received grant support from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Patient-Centred Outcomes Research Institute, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Brain Canada, Ontario Brain Institute, Alzheimer's Association, AGE-WELL, and the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement. Dr. Lenze receives grant support from COVID early treatment fund, Fast Grants, PCORI, Janssen; consulting fees from Merck, IngenioRx, Boeringer-Ingelheim, Pritikin ICR, Prodeo; patent pending for sigma 1 receptor agonists for COVID-19. Dr. Mulsant holds and receives support from the Labatt Family Chair in Biology of Depression in Late-Life Adults at the University of Toronto. He currently receives or has received with the past 3 years research support from Brain Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the CAMH Foundation, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH), Capital Solution Design LLC (software used in a study founded by CAMH Foundation), and HAPPYneuron (software used in a study founded by Brain Canada). Within the past 3 years, he has also been an unpaid consultant to Myriad Neuroscience. Ms. Wright, Tereschenko, and Perivolaris have no disclosures.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
PY - 2023/5
Y1 - 2023/5
N2 - Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of online recruitment for a clinical trial of pharmacotherapy for late-life depression during COVID-19. Methods: The authors calculated the yield, defined as recruitment leading to randomization (enrollment), from provider referrals versus Facebook self-referrals; compared characteristics and drop-out rates of participants from each source; and analyzed correlations between stringency of public health restrictions and referrals from each source over time. Results: Provider referrals had a significantly higher yield (10 of 33 referrals; 30.3%) versus Facebook self-referrals (14 of 323; 4.3%) (p <0.00001). Participants self-referred from Facebook had significantly more education; otherwise, both groups had similar characteristics and drop-out rates. While public health stringency was negatively correlated with provider referrals (ρ = −0.32) and positively correlated with Facebook self-referrals (ρ = 0.39), neither association reached statistical significance. Conclusion: Online recruitment may improve access to clinical research for older depressed adults. Future studies should evaluate cost-effectiveness and potential barriers such as computer literacy.
AB - Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of online recruitment for a clinical trial of pharmacotherapy for late-life depression during COVID-19. Methods: The authors calculated the yield, defined as recruitment leading to randomization (enrollment), from provider referrals versus Facebook self-referrals; compared characteristics and drop-out rates of participants from each source; and analyzed correlations between stringency of public health restrictions and referrals from each source over time. Results: Provider referrals had a significantly higher yield (10 of 33 referrals; 30.3%) versus Facebook self-referrals (14 of 323; 4.3%) (p <0.00001). Participants self-referred from Facebook had significantly more education; otherwise, both groups had similar characteristics and drop-out rates. While public health stringency was negatively correlated with provider referrals (ρ = −0.32) and positively correlated with Facebook self-referrals (ρ = 0.39), neither association reached statistical significance. Conclusion: Online recruitment may improve access to clinical research for older depressed adults. Future studies should evaluate cost-effectiveness and potential barriers such as computer literacy.
KW - aging
KW - clinical research
KW - COVID-19
KW - Depression
KW - virtual care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149849795&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jagp.2023.01.021
DO - 10.1016/j.jagp.2023.01.021
M3 - Article
C2 - 36849329
AN - SCOPUS:85149849795
SN - 1064-7481
VL - 31
SP - 366
EP - 371
JO - American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
JF - American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
IS - 5
ER -