Supportive Monitoring and Disease Management via the Internet (SUMMIT)
Contact: PD Dr. Markus Moessner
(markus.moessner(at)med.uni-heidelberg.de)
Depressive disorders are often characterized by an episodic recurrent course. According to literature, the risk of relapse increases significantly with the number of previous episodes of illness. Accordingly, relapses cannot be ruled out even after successful treatment, but especially after partial remission. Effective long-term strategies are therefore necessary to prolong symptom-free phases and to sustainably improve the quality of life of those affected.
The SUMMIT program - short for Supportive Monitoring and Disease Management via the Internet - developed at the FOST represents an intervention strategy that specifically uses the potential of communication technology to support chronically ill patients. The effectiveness of this Internet-based intervention strategy is currently being investigated as part of a multicenter, randomized clinical trial. The goal of the study is to investigate the efficacy of 12 months of participation in SUMMIT compared to standard treatment in patients with recurrent depression. The SUMMIT platform includes specialized information on depression, ongoing supportive monitoring of depressive symptoms, access to an Internet discussion forum, and individualized crisis management with or personal support from clinical experts. As part of the monitoring, participants answer a short depression questionnaire via the Internet or cmobile phone on a fortnightly basis and receive feedback tailored to their health status and course. In case of onset of a crisis, an individual crisis management is initiated.
The study included patients with at least three depressive episodes who received psychiatric treatment for a depressive episode at one of the six participating psychiatric centers. The main target criterion of the study is the number of symptom-free weeks ("well weeks") in the 24-month observation period. Secondary outcome criteria include relapse frequency, progression of depressive symptoms, utilization, and health-related quality of life.
The study is coordinated at the FOST and conducted in cooperation with the Coordination Center for Clinical Studies Heidelberg, the Clinic of General Psychiatry at the University Hospital Heidelberg, the Psychiatric Center Nord Baden in Wiesloch, the Department of Special Psychiatry, Social Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University Hospital Stuttgart, the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy II at the Ulm University, the Department of Psychiatry at the University Hospital Leipzig, and the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald. The study is funded by the DFG within the program “Clinical studies”.
Literature
Kordy, H., Wolf, M., Aulich, K., Bürgy, M., Hegerl, U., Hüsing, J., Puschner, B., Rummel-Kluge, C., Vedder, H. & Backenstrass, M. (2016). Internet-Delivered Disease Management for Recurrent Depression: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 85, 91-98.
Kordy, H., Backenstrass, M., Hüsing, J., Wolf, M., Aulich, K., Bürgy, M., Puschner, B., Rummel-Kluge, C. & Vedder, H. (2013). Supportive monitoring and disease management through the internet: An internet-delivered intervention strategy for recurrent depression. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 36(2), 327-337.
Wolf, M. (2011). Supportives Monitoring in der Psychotherapie. Psychotherapeut, 56, 485-491.