scholarly journals TheBrain Gamesstudy: protocol for a randomised controlled trial of computerised cognitive training for preventing mental illness in adolescents with high-risk personality styles

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. e017721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Mewton ◽  
Antoinette Hodge ◽  
Nicola Gates ◽  
Rachel Visontay ◽  
Maree Teesson
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Randomised Controlled

IntroductionA broad range of mental disorders are now understood as aberrations of normal adolescent brain development. In both adolescents and adults, executive dysfunction has been implicated across a range of mental illnesses, and enhancing executive functioning may prove to be a useful prevention strategy for adolescents at risk for a range of psychopathology.Methods and analysisThis study will consist of a double-blind, randomised controlled trial with a 12-month follow-up period. Participants will consist of 200 people aged 16–24 years who are at risk for a range of mental disorders based on personality risk factors, but have not experienced a lifetime mental illness as determined by a structured diagnostic interview. Participants will be randomly allocated to either an intervention group who complete an online cognitive training programme specifically targeting executive functioning ability or a control group who complete an online cognitive training programme that has limited executive functioning training potential. Superiority of the executive functioning training programme compared with the control training programme will be assessed at baseline, post-training and at 3-month, 6-month and 12-month follow-up. All assessments will be conducted online. The primary outcome of the study will be general psychopathology as measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes will include executive functioning ability, day-to-day functioning and alcohol consumption. All analyses will be undertaken using mixed-model repeated measures analysis of variance with planned contrasts.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval has been obtained from the University of New South Wales Human Research Ethics Committee (HC15094). Results of the trial immediately post-treatment and at 12 months follow-up will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberACTRN12616000127404; Pre-results.

A Randomised Controlled Trial of Strategies to Prompt Attendance for a Pap Smear

1995 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 211-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Bowman ◽  
Rob Sanson-Fisher ◽  
Catherine Boyle ◽  
Stephanie Pope ◽  
Sally Redman
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Pap Smear ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Health Clinic ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Screening Attendance ◽  
Randomised Controlled

Objective – To assess the comparative efficacy, by randomised controlled trial, of three interventions designed to encourage “at risk” women to have a Pap smear: an educational pamphlet; letters inviting attendance at a women's health clinic; and letters from physicians. Methods – Subjects at risk for cervical cancer who had not been adequately screened were identified by a random community survey and randomly allocated to one of the intervention groups or a control group. Six months after intervention implementation, a follow up survey assessed subsequent screening attendance. Self report was validated by comparison with a national screening data base. Results – A significantly greater proportion of women (36.9%) within the group receiving a physician letter reported screening at follow up than in any other group (P =0.012). The variables most strongly predicting screening attendance were: age, perceived frequency of screening required, use of oral contraceptives, and allocation to receive the physician letter intervention. Conclusions – The relative efficacy of the GP letter in prompting screening attendance shows that this strategy is worthy of further investigation. There remains a need to examine the barriers to screening for older women, and to develop tailored strategies for this population.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of a low support, remotely accessible, cognitive remediation training programme for chronic psychosis: cognitive, functional and cortical outcomes from a single blind randomised controlled trial

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 751-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Donohoe ◽  
R. Dillon ◽  
A. Hargreaves ◽  
O. Mothersill ◽  
M. Castorina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Cognitive Remediation ◽  
Social Function ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Placebo Condition ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Single Blind

BackgroundCognitive remediation (CR) training has emerged as a promising approach to improving cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and related psychosis. The limited availability of psychological services for psychosis is a major barrier to accessing this intervention however. This study investigated the effectiveness of a low support, remotely accessible, computerised working memory (WM) training programme in patients with psychosis.MethodsNinety patients were enrolled into a single blind randomised controlled trial of CR. Effectiveness of the intervention was assessed in terms of neuropsychological performance, social and occupational function, and functional MRI 2 weeks post-intervention, with neuropsychological and social function again assessed 3–6 months post-treatment.ResultsPatients who completed the intervention showed significant gains in both neuropsychological function (measured using both untrained WM and episodic task performance, and a measure of performance IQ), and social function at both 2-week follow-up and 3–6-month follow-up timepoints. Furthermore, patients who completed MRI scanning showed improved resting state functional connectivity relative to patients in the placebo condition.ConclusionsCR training has already been shown to improve cognitive and social function in patient with psychosis. This study demonstrates that, at least for some chronic but stable outpatients, a low support treatment was associated with gains that were comparable with those reported for CR delivered entirely on a 1:1 basis. We conclude that CR has potential to be delivered even in services in which psychological supports for patients with psychosis are limited.

scholarly journals Effects of biomedical messages and expert-recommended messages on reducing mental health-related stigma: a randomised controlled trial

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasutaka Ojio ◽  
Sosei Yamaguchi ◽  
Kazusa Ohta ◽  
Shuntaro Ando ◽  
Shinsuke Koike
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Useful Knowledge ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Related Stigma ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Randomised Controlled

Abstract Aims Mental health-related stigma is a major challenge associated with the huge mental health treatment gap. It has remained unclear what kind of educational content is effective in reducing the stigma. Whether biomedical messages (BMM) about mental illness are effective or harmful in decreasing stigma is controversial. To investigate whether BMM can improve practically useful knowledge of mental illness, comparably to recommended messages (RCM) advocated by experts, of types such as ‘recovery-oriented’, ‘social inclusion/human rights’ and ‘high prevalence of mental illnesses’ through a randomised controlled trial (RCT). Method This study is an individual-level RCT with a parallel-group design over 1 year, conducted in Tokyo, Japan. A total of 179 participants (males n = 80, mean age = 21.9 years and s.d. = 7.8) were recruited in high schools and universities, and through a commercial internet advertisement in June and July 2017, without any indication that the study appertained to mental health. Participants were allocated to the BMM and RCM groups. They underwent a 10-min intervention, and completed self-report questionnaires during baseline, post-test, 1-month follow-up and 1-year follow-up surveys. The primary outcome measures were practically useful knowledge of mental illness at the post-test survey using the Mental Illness and Disorder Understanding Scale (MIDUS). Analysis was conducted in October 2018. Results Both groups demonstrated improved MIDUS score in the post-test survey, and showed similar intervention effects (F(1, 177) = 160.5, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.48). The effect of the interventions continued until the 1-year follow-up survey (B [95% CI] = −2.56 [−4.27, −0.85], p < 0.01), and showed no difference between groups. The reported adverse effect that BMM increase stigma was not confirmed. Conclusions BMM may have a positive impact on stigma, comparable to RCM. These findings may encourage reconsideration of the content of messages about mental health, as it is indicated that combining BMM and RCM might contribute to an effective anti-stigma programme.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of two year balance training programme on prevention of fall induced injuries in at risk women aged 75-85 living in community: Ossébo randomised controlled trial

BMJ ◽  
2015 ◽  
pp. h3830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabienne El-Khoury ◽  
Bernard Cassou ◽  
Aurélien Latouche ◽  
Philippe Aegerter ◽  
Marie-Aline Charles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Balance Training ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Randomised Controlled

P1-055: Home-Based Computerised Cognitive Training for Non-Demented Older Adults at Risk of Dementia: A Double-Blind Randomised Controlled Trial

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. P422-P423
Author(s):  
Shannon Lee Webb ◽  
Kaarin J. Anstey ◽  
Nicolas Cherbuin ◽  
Lauren Bartsch ◽  
George Rebok ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Randomised Controlled

scholarly journals Falls and Cognitive Training 2 (FaCT2) study protocol: a randomised controlled trial exploring cognitive training to reduce risk of falls in at-risk older adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 370-377
Author(s):  
Hilaire J Thompson ◽  
Ellen McGough ◽  
George Demiris
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Fall Risk ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Reduce Risk ◽  
Randomised Controlled

BackgroundThe primary cause of traumatic injury in older adults is fall. Recent reports suggest that cognitive function contributes significantly to fall risk. Therefore, by targeting cognitive function for intervention, we could potentially reduce the incidence of fall and injury.Primary objectiveTo explore the effectiveness of a 16-week cognitive training (CT) intervention to reduce risk and incidence of fall in community-dwelling older adults at risk for fall.OutcomesPrimary outcome is number of falls over a 16-week period (ascertained by fall calendar method). Secondary outcomes include: change fall risk as indicated by improvement in 10 m walk and 90 s balance tests.Design/methodsThe design is a two-group randomised controlled trial. Eligible participants are older adults (aged 65–85) residing in the community who are at risk for fall based on physical performance testing. Following completion of 1-week run-in phase, participants are randomly allocated (1:2) to either a group that is assigned to attention control or to the group that receives CT intervention for a total of 16 weeks. Participants are followed for an additional 4 weeks after intervention. Mann-Whitney U test and Student’s t-test will be used to examine between-group differences using intention-to-treat analyses.DiscussionLimited evidence supports the potential of CT to improve cognition and gait, but no published study has evaluated whether such an intervention would reduce incidence of fall. The present trial is designed to provide initial answers to this question. CT may also improve functioning important in other activities (eg, driving), reducing overall risk of injury in elders.Trial registration numberNCT03190460.

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