Efficacy of nurse telehealth care and peer support in augmenting treatment of depression in primary care.
BACKGROUND
Primary care treatment of depression needs improvement.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy of 2 augmentations to antidepressant drug treatment.


METHODS
Randomized trial comparing usual care, telehealth care, and telehealth care plus peer support; assessments were conducted at baseline, 6 weeks, and 6 months.


METHODS
Two managed care adult primary care clinics.


METHODS
A total of 302 patients starting antidepressant drug therapy.


METHODS
For telehealth care: emotional support and focused behavioral interventions in ten 6-minute calls during 4 months by primary care nurses; and for peer support: telephone and in-person supportive contacts by trained health plan members recovered from depression.


METHODS
For depression: the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory; and for mental and physical functioning: the SF-12 Mental and Physical Composite Scales and treatment satisfaction.


RESULTS
Nurse-based telehealth patients with or without peer support more often experienced 50% improvement on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale at 6 weeks (50% vs 37%; P =.01) and 6 months (57% vs 38%; P =.003) and on the Beck Depression Inventory at 6 months (48% vs 37%; P =. 05) and greater quantitative reduction in symptom scores on the Hamilton scale at 6 months (10.38 vs 8.12; P =.006). Telehealth care improved mental functioning at 6 weeks (47.07 vs 42.64; P =.004) and treatment satisfaction at 6 weeks (4.41 vs 4.17; P =.004) and 6 months (4.20 vs 3.94; P =.001). Adding peer support to telehealth care did not improve the primary outcomes.


CONCLUSIONS
Nurse telehealth care improves clinical outcomes of antidepressant drug treatment and patient satisfaction and fits well within busy primary care settings.
Hunkeler
E M
EM
Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland 94611-5463, USA. emh@dor.kaiser.org
Meresman
J F
JF
Hargreaves
W A
WA
Fireman
B
B
Berman
W H
WH
Kirsch
A J
AJ
Groebe
J
J
Hurt
S W
SW
Braden
P
P
Getzell
M
M
Feigenbaum
P A
PA
Peng
T
T
Salzer
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D002140:California; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011320:Primary Health Care; D019114:Remote Consultation; D012944:Social Support; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000928:Antidepressive Agents