title: Telephone-delivered psychotherapy for rural-dwelling older adults with generalized anxiety disorder: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), characterized by excessive and uncontrollable worry, has a negative impact on the health, well-being, and functioning of older adults. Cognitive behavioral therapy has demonstrated efficacy in reducing anxiety and worry in older adults, but the generalizability of these findings to community-dwelling older adults is unknown. The aim of the current study is to examine the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral intervention delivered by telephone in reducing anxiety and worry in rural community-dwelling older adults with GAD.
  
  
  METHODS
  We propose a randomized controlled trial comparing telephone-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-T) with nondirective supportive therapy (NST-T). One hundred seventy six adults 60 years and older diagnosed with GAD will be randomized to one of the two treatment conditions. The primary outcomes are self-report worry and clinician-rated anxiety. Secondary outcomes include depressive symptoms, sleep, quality of life, and functional status.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is hypothesized that CBT-T will be superior to NST-T in reducing anxiety and worry among older adults with GAD. Further, CBT-T is hypothesized to be superior to NST-T in reducing problems with depressive symptoms, sleep, functional status and quality of life. If this program is successful, it could be implemented as a low-cost program to treat late-life anxiety, especially in rural areas or in circumstances where older adults may not have access to qualified mental health providers.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01259596.
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd,, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA. gbrenes@wakehealth.edu.
authors: Gretchen A
authors: GA
authors: Brenes
authors: Suzanne C
authors: SC
authors: Danhauer
authors: Mary F
authors: MF
authors: Lyles
authors: Michael E
authors: ME
authors: Miller
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009629:Person-Centered Psychotherapy; D011788:Quality of Life; D057566:Self Report; D013689:Telephone