Journal Article

Study protocol: a randomised controlled trial of a telephone delivered social wellbeing and engaged living (SWEL) psychological intervention for disengaged youth

Baker, Amanda L., Devir, Holly, Jackson, Christopher, Attia, John, Wolfenden, Luke, Lenroot, Rhoshel, Paulik, Georgie, Stain, Helen J., Stoyanov, Stoyan R., Hides, Leanne

2019

Overview

Background Internationally, from 12.2–23.4% of youth (aged 16–24 years) are not in employment, education or training (NEET). These disengaged youth are more likely to experience social exclusion, increased psychological distress and poor quality of life. Youth at risk of disengagement are less likely to access traditional support services, requiring development of innovative interventions. Methods The trial is a single blind, three arm, randomised controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a telephone delivered psychological intervention for disengaged youth (12–25 years). Participants will be randomised to receive either (i) SWEL, (ii) Befriending, or (iii) Single Session Psycho-Education. Therapy will be over an 8 week period with a minimum of four and maximum of eight sessions for the SWEL or Befriending conditions, or a single session for the Psycho-Education condition. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and at 2, 8 and 14-month follow-up with the primary outcome being re-engagement in education, training or employment. Discussion This large, multi-site, randomised controlled trial will inform the delivery of services for young people at risk of disengaging from education or training. The provision of psychological therapy by telephone increases access by youth – especially those in rural and remote areas - both to the trial and the treatment, if adopted by services. The outcomes of this trial could have meaningful societal impact for a vulnerable population. It is expected that recruitment, intervention and retention will present challenges for the trial given the focus on disengaged youth. Trial registration ANZCTR, ACTRN12614001212640 , Registered 18 Nov 2014. Retrospectively registered. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval has been obtained from the participating institutions. Results of the trial will be submitted for publication in peer reviewed journals and findings presented at scientific conferences and to key service providers and policy makers.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Adolescent / Adolescent health services / Adult / Alcohol / Anxiety / At risk youth / Behavior modification / Care and treatment / CBT / Child / Child & adolescent psychiatry / Child health / Clinical trials / Cognition & reasoning / Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - methods / Conferences and conventions / DBT / Education / Emotions / Employment / Ethics / Evidence-based medicine / Female / Humans / Internet / Male / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Mental depression / Mental disorders / Mental health care / Methods / Multicenter Studies as Topic / Native peoples / NEET / Program Evaluation - methods / Psychiatry / Psychological aspects / Psychosis / Psychotherapy / Quality of life / Quality of Life - psychology / Quantitative psychology / Questionnaires / Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Remote therapy / Research Design / Retrospective Studies / Self esteem / Single-Blind Method / Social exclusion / Social inclusion / Social Isolation - psychology / Social psychiatry / Social services / Social Support / Stress (Psychology) / Stress, Psychological - psychology / Stress, Psychological - therapy / Study Protocol / Substance abuse treatment / Teenagers / Telemedicine / Telephone / Therapists / Therapy / therapy and provision of mental health care / Vulnerable Populations - psychology / Well being / Young Adult / Youth services