Matching primary care patients to the best depression treatment
Improving Outcomes in Depression in Primary Care
This project uses routine information from primary care patients with moderate to severe depression to match them to either an antidepressant or a brief behavioral therapy so more people get better.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Harvard Medical School NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11414813 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You'll be asked to provide routine information about your symptoms, medical history, and other measures collected in primary care. Researchers will apply machine-learning to those baseline measures to create a precision rule that predicts whether an antidepressant or a brief behavioral activation therapy (HAP) is more likely to help you. Patients will be enrolled in a randomized design to test whether following this precision rule improves remission rates and is more cost-effective than usual care. The team will also identify patients who are unlikely to respond to either option and should be referred to specialist care.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults seen in primary care with moderate to severe depressive symptoms who are willing to try antidepressant medication or brief behavioral therapy are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People with only mild symptoms, those already under specialty psychiatric care, or those unwilling to try the study treatments are less likely to benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help more people get the right depression treatment faster and increase their chances of remission.
How similar studies have performed: Antidepressants and the Healthy Activity Program have shown benefit in past trials, but using machine-learning rules to match individuals to the best option is a newer approach with limited prior proof.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Harvard Medical School — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Patel, Vikram H — Harvard Medical School
- Study coordinator: Patel, Vikram H
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.