REDUCE Programme WS4
Research type
Research Study
Full title
REviewing long term anti-DEpressant Use by Careful monitoring in Everyday practice (REDUCE) programme. WS4:Pilot Feasibility Randomised Controlled Trial
IRAS ID
247830
Contact name
Anthony Kendrick
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 30 days
Research summary
There is concern about increasing antidepressant use. In England. GPs are writing more than 60 million prescriptions a year, to around 1-in-10 adults. Some people need long-term antidepressants to stop them getting depressed, but a third-to-a-half could possibly stop them without relapsing.
However, many patients experience withdrawal symptoms, while others may be fearful that they will experience them. Withdrawal symptoms can include anxiety and depression, which are usually temporary, but can feel similar to the reasons why patients first started antidepressants. So people often restart their antidepressant quickly.
Common side effects of antidepressants include changes in weight, changes in sleep, and changes in sexual functions. Less commonly, some patients suffer bleeding from the stomach or intestine, falls, seizures, and strokes. However, studies show that when GPs review patients on long-term antidepressants and recommend that they could begin to stop taking them, only 1-in-14 is able to stop.
The REDUCE (REviewing long term antiDepressant Use by Careful monitoring in Everyday practice) study aims to identify safe, effective, and cost-effective ways of helping patients taking long-term antidepressants taper off and stop treatment, when appropriate. This Work Stream 4 (WS4) of the REDUCE programme aims to determine the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial of online (Internet) interventions to support practitioners and guide patients on coming off antidepressants.
WS4 aims to assess the acceptability of the Internet interventions, recruitment of practitioners and patients, and acceptability of planned outcome measures. It will take 12 months to complete, starting in September 2018. We will recruit 40-60 patients (20-30 patients randomly allocated to the intervention arm and 20-30 controls), from 14 general practices over 6 months, and follow them up for 6 months.
Open-ended interviews with 15-20 patients and 15-20 practitioners will explore patient and practitioner views of the treatment and research assessments in the trial.REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
18/WS/0143
Date of REC Opinion
6 Sep 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion