Effectiveness of an Internet-based Intervention for the Treatment of Depression

The public health system has established policies and priorities to provide access to depression treatment and to improve the quality of those services. The acknowledgment of the complexity and chronicity of the disorder has motivated the design and implementation of comprehensive disease management strategies for depression. There are experiences that show that information technologies can help to optimize the management of depression. If ASCENSO is effective, it could be a useful resource to include to the mental health services for depression in Chile.

The components of the ASCENSO program are:

Emergency. Standard Information on what to do and who to contact in a crisis situation.

Online or phone counseling. Patients can schedule a 30-minute session with a psychologist, which is conducted in a private text chatroom or over the phone.

Monitoring. Patients receive a bi-weekly email with a link to the monitoring questionnaire and automatized tailored feedback message. If a participant reports severe impairment, the ASCENSO administrator receives an alert notification and then contacts the patient.

Self-care information and blog. Web pages with basic information about depression and self-care recommendations.

Inclusion criteria

• Clinical diagnosis of major depression disorder
• Internet access

Exclusion criteria

• previous suicide attempt
• hospitalization for a previous depressive episode
• a history of psychotic symptoms
• bipolar disorder
• organic brain disorders
• any serious disorders related to substance abuse or dependence
• antisocial personality disorder
• a serious medical condition or severe cognitive impairment
• lack of knowledge of the Spanish language
• illiteracy
• refusal or revocation of patient consent.

Patients will be evaluated using the MINI International Neuropsychiatric interview, Spanish for Chile Translation Version 6.0.0.