Back to search results

Empower@Home for Depression in Older Adults

This study is testing an online program called Empower@Home to help older adults (age 50 and up) with depression. Empower@Home is a self-help program based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which teaches you ways to change negative thinking patterns. You would complete 9 online sessions and use a printed workbook. The study will compare Empower@Home to receiving friendly phone calls every two weeks. Researchers want to see if Empower@Home can reduce depressive symptoms, measured by a questionnaire called PHQ-9. To join, you need to be at least 50 years old, speak English, and have moderate depressive symptoms. The study plans to enroll 256 participants, but its current status is unclear.

Study design
This is an interventional study that will randomly assign 256 participants to either the Empower@Home program or a control group receiving friendly phone calls.
What's involved
Participants in the Empower@Home group will complete 9 online sessions and use a workbook. The control group will receive biweekly telephone-friendly visits.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Your depressive symptoms will be measured at 12, 24, and 36 weeks after the start of the study.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT06584422

Empower@Home: Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)

Recruiting
NAAges 50+InterventionalTreatment
University of Michigan
~256 participants
Updated 2025-11-21 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Empower@Home: An online cognitive-behavioral therapy self-care program for geriatric depressionTelephone friendly visits

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Change in Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
Measured over Change from Baseline to follow-up assessments at 12, 24, and 36 weeks

Conditions

Depression

Explore related trials

Depression

NCT06584422

Where you'd take part

This study runs at 1 site. They're the same protocol — you choose where, and that choice sets who your contact draft is addressed to.

  • University of Michigan

    Ann Arbor, Michiganstudy coordinator listed

    Recruiting

Sites open and close at different times, so the status above is per site — it can differ from the study's overall status.

Study leadership

  • Xiaoling Xiang, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · University of Michigan

Who to contact

Xiaoling Xiang, PhD
[email protected]
734-763-6581
Email the study team

Opens a ready-to-send draft in your own email app — review before sending.

Want this trial checked against your situation?

Add a private profile and we'll compare every criterion below against your situation — and tell you which ones are met, uncertain, or excluding.

Check eligibility for this trial ~2 min · HIPAA-protected · delete anytime
Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

(1) be receiving or eligible to receive services at the recruitment sites
(2) read and speak English
(3) be at least 50 years old
(4) have at least moderate depressive symptoms at screening (≥ 8 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 \[PHQ-9\]).
(5) Participants who are NOT currently receiving outside therapy must agree NOT to start outside therapy during study participation. Participants who are currently receiving outside therapy must agree NOT to increase their outside therapy frequency during study participation.

Exclusion

(1) probable dementia based on the Blessed Orientation and Memory Scale.
(2) moderate or high risk of suicide based on the 6-item Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale
(3) a terminal illness with less than six months to live or unstable physical health conditions based on self-report
(4) a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder based on self-report and medical chart review
(5) severe vision impairment based on self-report (i.e., legally blind)
(6) current substance use disorders or receiving substance use treatment.
(7) currently receiving outside therapy more frequently than once a month or have started a new therapy treatment less than 3 months ago

What this trial measures

  • Change in Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)Change from Baseline to follow-up assessments at 12, 24, and 36 weeks

    Change in 9 item standardized measures of depressive symptom severity. PHQ-9 score ranges from 0 to 27, with a higher score indicating more severe symptoms.