Although psychological treatments for depressive disorders are available, they are often expensive or inaccessible for many. Web-based interventions that require minimal or no contact with therapists have been shown effective. To the best of our knowledge, no study using this treatment format has been conducted in Brazil. The Deprexis program was designed using empirically established principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy to reduce depressive symptoms. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Deprexis in Brazil. This randomized controlled trial will include 128 Brazilians with clinically significant depression symptoms or who have been diagnosed with depressive disorder (major depressive disorder or dysthymia), recruited over the internet (Brazilian forums, social networks, or e-mail lists). Individuals with other psychiatric diagnoses that require significant attention (e.g., bipolar disorder, psychosis) will not be included in the trial. Participants will be randomly assigned to 1) treatment as usual plus immediate access to Deprexis or 2) treatment as usual plus delayed access to Deprexis (after 8 weeks). Participants will be able to obtain other treatment types in addition to the online intervention. If found effective, this web-based intervention would increase the evidence-based care options for depression treatment in Brazil.

Specific psychological treatments for depressive disorders delivered on the Internet have shown effectiveness and presented advantages over face-to-face treatments (potentially less expensive, flexible schedules, available in remote areas). This paper aims to describe the characteristics of those who sought help from an online self-guided intervention for depression and to explore hypotheses about predictors of enrollment to the program. Based on a sample of 282 of individuals who filled in screening questionnaires, we verified that the respondents were mainly female, were on average 34.36 years old, were primarily recruited through Facebook, had been previously diagnosed by mental health professionals, presented moderate self-efficacy perception, and had moderately severe symptoms of depression. Respondents who reported comorbid conditions were more likely to attend enrollment interviews, and being in treatment or not did not influence attendance. Such characterization may provide strategies to reach more people and to optimize the design of interventions targeting help-seeking depressed individuals in Brazil.

Background Depression is undertreated in Brazil. Deprexis is a self-guided internet-based program used to treat depressive symptoms based on empirically supported integrative and cognitive behavioral therapy. Evidence from a meta-analysis supports Deprexis’ efficacy in German-speaking countries and the United States, but no study has been conducted using this program in countries with low literacy rates and large social disparities. Furthermore, few studies have investigated whether internet-based interventions ameliorate the psychological processes that might underlie depressive symptomatology, such as low perceived self-efficacy. Objective The main objective of this study was to replicate in Brazil previously reported effects of Deprexis on depressive symptom reduction. Therefore, the main research question was whether Deprexis is effective in reducing depressive symptoms and the general psychological state in Brazilian users with moderate and severe depression in comparison with a control group that does not receive access to Deprexis. A secondary research question was whether the use of Deprexis affects perceptions of self-efficacy. Methods We interviewed 312 participants recruited over the internet and randomized 189 participants with moderate to severe depression (according to the Patient Health Questionnaire–9 and a semistructured interview) to an intervention condition (treatment as usual plus immediate access to Deprexis for 90 days, n=94) or to a control condition (treatment as usual and delayed access to Deprexis, after 8 weeks, n=95). Results Participants from the immediate access group logged in at Deprexis an average of 14.81 (SD 12.16) times. The intention-to-treat analysis using a linear mixed model showed that participants who received Deprexis improved significantly more than participants assigned to the delayed access control group on the primary depression self-assessment measure (Patient Health Questionnaire–9; Cohen d=0.80; P<.001) and secondary outcomes, such as general psychological state measure (Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation–Outcome Measurement; Cohen d=0.82; P<.001) and the perceived self-efficacy measure (Cohen d=0.63; P<.001). The intention-to-treat analyses showed that 21% (20/94) of the participants achieved remission compared with 7% (7/95) in the control group (P<.001). The deterioration rates were lower in the immediate access control group. The dropout rate was high, but no differences in demographic and clinical variables were found. Participants reported a medium to high level of satisfaction with Deprexis. Conclusions These results replicate previous findings by showing that Deprexis can facilitate symptomatic improvement over 3 months in depressed samples of Brazilian users. From a public health perspective, this is important information to expand the reach of internet-based interventions for those who really need them, especially in countries with less access to mental health care. This extends previous research by showing significant effects on perceived self-efficacy. Trial Registration Registro Brasileiro de Ensaios Clíncos (ReBec) RBR-6kk3bx UTN U1111-1212-8998; https://ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-6kk3bx/ International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR2-10.1590/1516-4446-2019-0582

BACKGROUND Depression is undertreated in Brazil. Deprexis is an internet-based program to treat depressive symptoms based on empirically supported integrative and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Evidence from metanalysis supports Deprexis’ efficacy in German-speaking countries and the United States of America, but no study has yet been conducted using this program in countries with low literacy rates and large social disparities. Furthermore, few studies have investigated whether internet-based interventions ameliorate psychological processes that might underlie depressive symptomatology, such as low perceived self-efficacy. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of the Brazilian-Portuguese version of Deprexis in a sample of Brazilian adults with elevated depressive symptoms. METHODS We randomized 189 moderately to severely depressed participants to an intervention condition (treatment as usual [TAU] plus immediate access to Deprexis for 90 days, n=94), or to a control condition (TAU and delayed access to Deprexis, after 8 weeks, n=95). RESULTS Intention-to-treat analysis using a linear mixed model showed that participants who received Deprexis improved significantly more than participants assigned to the delayed access control group on the primary depression measure (Cohen's d=0.80), and secondary outcomes such as general psychological state measure (d=0.82), and the perceived self-efficacy measure (d=0.63). ITT analyses show that 21.3% of the participants achieved remission against 7.4% in the control group (p < 0.001). Participants reported a medium to high level of satisfaction with Deprexis. CONCLUSIONS These results replicate previous findings by showing that Deprexis can facilitate symptomatic improvement over 3 months for a depressed sample of Brazilian users. It extends previous research by showing significant effects on perceived self-efficacy. CLINICALTRIAL ReBec RBR-6kk3bx, UTN U1111-1212-8998 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.1590/1516-4446-2019-0582

O estudo apresenta o protocolo de acolhimento do Calma Nessa Hora, um serviço de e-health via chat, de apoio a pessoas em sofrimento psicológico diante da COVID-19. Foi elaborado um diagrama de fluxo de atendimento com previsão de início e fim em uma sessão, contendo três etapas: avaliação, acolhimento e finalização. Cada etapa possuía marcos de tomada de decisão sobre o fluxo diante do conteúdo e grau de risco da demanda. Na etapa de acolhimento foram priorizadas demandas de baixo e médio risco associadas à Covid-19, como questões sociais e de saúde; ansiedade, depressão ou luto; conflitos familiares e de trabalho. Situações de elevado risco, como intenção suicida e violência, seguiram fluxo específico de encaminhamento para a rede de saúde. O artigo descreve cada etapa e os diferentes fluxos a partir de casos-exemplo. O protocolo é interdisciplinar, com potencial aplicação em serviços de atenção à saúde e serviços-escola nas universidades.