We describe initial pilot findings from a novel school-based approach to reduce youth depression and suicidality, the Empowering a Multimodal Pathway Towards Healthy Youth (EMPATHY) program. Here we present the findings from the pilot cohort of 3,244 youth aged 11–18 (Grades 6-12). They were screened for depression, suicidality, anxiety, use of drugs, alcohol, or tobacco (DAT), quality-of-life, and self-esteem. Additionally, all students in Grades 7 and 8 (mean ages 12.3 and 13.3 respectively) also received an 8-session cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) based program designed to increase resiliency to depression. Following screening there were rapid interventions for the 125 students (3.9%) who were identified as being actively suicidal, as well as for another 378 students (11.7%) who were felt to be at higher-risk of self-harm based on a combination of scores from all the scales. The intervention consisted of an interview with the student and their family followed by offering a guided internet-based CBT program. Results from the 2,790 students who completed scales at both baseline and 12-week follow-up showed significant decreases in depression and suicidality. Importantly, there was a marked decrease in the number of students who were actively suicidal (from n=125 at baseline to n=30 at 12-weeks). Of the 503 students offered the CBT program 163 (32%) took part, and this group had significantly lower depression scores compared to those who didn’t take part. There were no improvements in self-esteem, quality-of-life, or the number of students using DAT. Only 60 students (2% of total screened) required external referral during the 24-weeks following study initiation. These results suggest that a multimodal school-based program may provide an effective and pragmatic approach to help reduce youth depression and suicidality. Further research is required to determine longer-term efficacy, reproducibility, and key program elements.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02169960

Here, we report on findings from a 15-month follow-up of a school-based program called Empowering a Multimodal Pathway Toward Healthy Youth (EMPATHY). This was primarily intended to reduce suicidal thinking in pre-teens, adolescents, and youth students aged 11–18 in middle schools (Grades 6–8) and high SCHOOLS (Grades 9–12). It also aimed to reduce depression and anxiety. The EMPATHY multimodal program consisted of repeated data collection, identification of a high-risk group, a rapid intervention for this high-risk group including offering supervised online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) program, a universal CBT intervention for those in Grades 6–8, a variety of interactions with trained staff (“Resiliency Coaches”), and referral to external medical and psychiatric services where appropriate. There were four time-points at which assessments were made: baseline, 3, 7, and 15 months. Here, we report cross-sectional findings over 15 months in a total of 6,227 students who were assessed at least once during the study period. Additionally, we report longitudinal findings from the 1,884 students who completed all 4 assessments. Our results found highly statistically significant decreases in suicidality rates, with the percentage of the total school population who were actively suicidal decreasing from 4.4% at baseline (n = 143 of 3,244) to 2.8% at 15 months (n = 125 of 4,496) (p < 0.001). There were also highly statistically significant reductions in depression and anxiety scores at each time-point. Thus, Mean Depression scores at baseline for the entire student population were 3.73 ± 3.87 (n = 3,244) at baseline and decreased to 3.22 ± 3.52 (n = 4,496) (p < 0.001). Since most students were not depressed, whole population changes such as this may indicate impact in many areas. In the longitudinal analysis of students who completed all four assessments, there were also highly statistically significant improvements in depression and anxiety scores at all time-points. For example, depression scores decreased from a mean of 3.43 ± 3.67 (n = 1,884) at baseline to 2.95 ± 3.53 (n = 1,884) at 15-months (p < 0.001), while the number who were actively suicidal decreased from 69 to 37. These results suggest that school-based multimodal programs, utilizing a combination of interventions, can have meaningful benefits across entire school populations.

There is uncertainty regarding possible benefits of screening for depression in family practice, as well as the most effective treatment approach when depression is identified. Here, we examined whether screening patients for depression in primary care, and then treating them with different modalities, was better than treatment-as-usual (TAU) alone. Screening was carried out for depression using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), with a score of ≥10 indicating significant depressive symptoms. PHQ-9 scores were given to family physicians prior to patients being seen (except for the Control group). Patients (n = 1,489) were randomized to one of four groups. Group #1 were controls (n = 432) in which PHQ-9 was administered, but results were not shared. Group #2 was screening followed by TAU (n = 426). Group #3 was screening followed by both TAU and the opportunity to use an online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment program (n = 440). Group #4 utilized an evidence-based Stepped-care pathway for depression (n = 191, note that this was not available at all clinics). Of the study sample 889 (60%) completed a second PHQ-9 rating at 12 weeks. There were no statistically significant differences in baseline PHQ-9 scores between these groups. Compared to baseline, mean PHQ-9 scores decreased significantly in the depressed patients over 12 weeks, but there were no statistically significant differences between any groups at 12 weeks. Thus, for those who were depressed at baseline Control group (Group #1) scores decreased from 15.3 ± 4.2 to 4.0 ± 2.6 (p < 0.001), Screening group (Group #2) scores decreased from 15.5 ± 3.9 to 4.6 ± 3.0 (p < 0.001), Online CBT group (Group #3) scores decreased from 15.4 ± 3.8 to 3.4 ± 2.7 (p < 0.01), and the Stepped-care pathway group (Group #4) scores decreased from 15.3 ± 3.6 to 5.4 ± 2.8 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, these findings from this controlled randomized study do not suggest that using depression screening tools in family practice improves outcomes. They also suggest that much of the depression seen in primary care spontaneously resolves and do not support suggestions that more complex treatment programs or pathways improve depression outcomes in primary care. Replication studies are required due to study limitations.