The COMPASS-MS study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Acceptability of identifying and managing psychological distress in Multiple Sclerosis in routine care: The COMPASS-MS feasibility implementation study
IRAS ID
335756
Contact name
Joanna Hudson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 30 days
Research summary
Psychological distress (depression and/or anxiety) in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is common, and is known to lead to worse symptoms, more complications, and increased healthcare costs. Therefore, there is a need for psychological therapy to support People living with MS (PwMS). COMPASS is an existing digital psychological therapy created by King’s College London, which has been found to improve psychological distress for patients with a range of long-term health conditions, including MS. COMPASS uses a form of psychological therapy called cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help patients manage their psychological distress and long-term condition. COMPASS could therefore be implemented into MS services to support psychological distress and improve patient wellbeing in MS.
The aim of this study is to examine how feasible and acceptable it is to identify patients with psychological distress in an MS service and to provide COMPASS to these patients within routine NHS care at King's College Hospital NHS trust (KCH) MS service.
We will examine:
i) If it is acceptable to patients and staff to identify psychological distress using an electronic screening platform can be (MyChart).
ii) If COMPASS is an acceptable treatment option to PwMS experiencing psychological distress
iii) If COMPASS is able to improve psychological distress outcomes by looking at changes in self-report questionnaires from before and after use of COMPASS
iv) If COMPASS is used as planned by patients and staff by looking at COMPASS usage reports
Also two nested interview studies will explore the barriers and facilitators of 1) implementing the COMPASS-MS care pathway locally at KCH (qualitative study A) and 2) scaling it across Neurology Services outside KCH (qualitative study B).REC name
West Midlands - Solihull Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/WM/0085
Date of REC Opinion
7 May 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion