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Tech Connect: An Intervention to Promote Treatment Engagement for Adolescents with Depression

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Abstract

Poor treatment engagement remains a challenge in effectively treating adolescents with depression. This exploratory 2-arm RCT aimed to test the feasibility and acceptability of Tech Connect for promoting treatment engagement among adolescents. Twenty youth with depression were randomized to Tech Connect (treatment) or standard community-based mental health care (control). Study aims included: (1) assess the feasibility and acceptability of Tech Connect between-session contacts for adolescents, their parents, and treatment providers and (2) conduct a preliminary analysis of engagement and mental health outcomes. Significant differences were found between the number of treatment sessions attended by the Tech Connect and control group (t = 2.00; p < .05). Adolescents receiving Tech Connect attended 91.3% (mean = 7.5 sessions; SD = 1.58) of their initial eight sessions, while 66.3% (mean = 5.3 sessions; SD = 3.09) attended in the control condition. Tech Connect is a novel, technologically-driven intervention that proved effective in improving treatment engagement among adolescents with depression.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Mental Health Research and Innovation in Treatment Engagement and Service (MH-RITES Research Center), Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston, 3511 Cullen Boulevard, 110HA, Houston, TX, 77204, USA

    Robin E. Gearing

  2. Tel-Aviv, Israel

    Rachel Attia-Guetta

  3. Silver School of Social Work, New York University, 1 Washington Square North, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Kiara Moore

  4. R620 Department of Biostatistics, Columbia University, 722 W 168th Street, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Prakash Gorroochurn

  5. Graduate College of Social Work, University of Houston, 3511 Cullen Boulevard, Houston, TX, 77204, USA

    Lindamarie Olson

  6. North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center, 480 Old Westbury Road, Roslyn Heights, NY, 11577, USA

    Andrew Malekoff

Authors
  1. Robin E. Gearing
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  2. Rachel Attia-Guetta
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  3. Kiara Moore
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  4. Prakash Gorroochurn
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  5. Lindamarie Olson
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  6. Andrew Malekoff
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Correspondence to Robin E. Gearing.

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All authors had no potential conflicts of interest or financial support for this study.

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Gearing, R.E., Attia-Guetta, R., Moore, K. et al. Tech Connect: An Intervention to Promote Treatment Engagement for Adolescents with Depression. Community Ment Health J 57, 880–883 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00663-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00663-y

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