UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
Department of Psychiatry
Fifth Annual Research Forum – Extravaganza 2014
POSTER TITLE
PATH: Promoting Adolescent Health Through Internet-based Primary Care Intervention
DISEASE/KEY
WORDS:
Depression, Primary Care, Internet-based
AUTHORS:
Benjamin Van Voorhees, MD, MPH, Jennifer Nidetz, MSW, Monika Marko-Holguin, MSS,
Megan Cummens, MA Tracy Gladstone, PhD, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago,
Illinois, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts
MENTEE
CATEGORY:
RESEARCH MENTOR:
BACKGROUND:
Internet-based interventions for preventing youth depression hold promise, but further research
is needed to explore the efficacy of these approaches and ways of integrating emerging
technologies for behavioral health into the primary care system.
METHODS:
We developed a primary care Internet-based depression prevention intervention, CATCH-IT,
to evaluate a self-guided, online approach to depression prevention and are conducting a
randomized clinical trial comparing CATCH-IT to a general health education Internet
intervention. CATCH-IT was developed utilizing the media theory of “Synchronization of the
Senses” to incorporate character stories, peer videos and design/picture elements to create a
unified experience meeting today’s social media standards. CATCH-IT combines several
therapeutic modalities including cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal/family-based
interventions in an ecological model. The intervention also includes an Internet-based parent
program incorporating psycho-educational material about youth depression and role-playing
video vignettes. Three primary care physician motivational interviews are used to engage youth
with the CATCH-IT program. Parents randomized to CATCH-IT also participate in
motivational interviews with the project manager. The Health Education (HE) model was
developed based on the current well-child curriculum used for primary care visits.
We enrolled N=234 adolescents/expected 400 and N=186 parents/expected 400 in the PATH
study, from N=6 major health systems. Adolescents were diverse in race and ethnicity: N=30
identified as Hispanic and N=65 identified as African American. The mean number of modules
started or completed for those enrolled in HE is greater than those in CATCH-IT: M=3.73 (SD
= 4.30) for teens, M=2.37 (SD = 2.06) for parents; HE: M=6.76 (SD=6.34) for teens, M=2.18
(SD = 1.92) for parents. The mean number of minutes that CATCH-IT teens spent online is
significantly higher (p<.001) than for HE (CATCH-IT: M=93.35 minutes (SD=107.40), HE:
M=20.28 minutes (SD=19.01)). CATCHIT teens also typed an average of N=3927.17
characters (SD=4043.94).
RESULTS:
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
Department of Psychiatry
CONCLUSIONS:
Embedding technology within the primary care setting may have increased access to hard-toreach populations and decreased stigma in addressing mental health concerns. It may also
provide a platform for parents and teens to improve communication and offer teens a way of
connecting with trusted healthcare providers regarding depression. Time spent on the website
indicates that teens are engaging with the CATCH-IT site significantly more than the HealthEducation site despite not completing the entire program. Additional efforts are needed to
evaluate the importance of the semi-structured interview and staff interaction with families in
conjunction with self-directed online prevention. Future projects should include intervention
platforms on smartphones, tablets, and individualization of the program to best suit each teen’s
preferences and needs.