Effectiveness of a Guided Internet- and Mobile-Based Intervention for Patients with Chronic Back Pain and Depression (WARD-BP): A Multicenter, Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: There is neither strong evidence on effective treatments for patients with chronic back pain (CBP) and depressive disorder nor sufficiently available mental health care offers.

Objective: The aim is to assess the effectiveness of internet- and mobile-based interventions (IMI) as a scalable approach for treating depression in a routine care setting.

Methods: This is an observer-masked, multicenter, pragmatic randomized controlled trial with a randomization ratio of 1:1.Patients with CBP and diagnosed depressive disorder (mild to moderate severity) were recruited from 82 orthopedic rehabilitation clinics across Germany. The intervention group (IG) received a guided depression IMI tailored to CBP next to treatment-as-usual (TAU; including medication), while the control group (CG) received TAU. The primary outcome was observer-masked clinician-rated Hamilton depression severity (9-week follow-up). The secondary outcomes were: further depression outcomes, pain-related outcomes, health-related quality of life, and work capacity. Biostatistician blinded analyses using regression models were conducted by intention-to-treat and per protocol analysis.

Results: Between October 2015 and July 2017, we randomly assigned 210 participants (IG, n = 105; CG, n = 105), mostly with only a mild pain intensity but substantial pain disability. No statistically significant difference in depression severity between IG and CG was observed at the 9-week follow-up (β = -0.19, 95% CI -0.43 to 0.05). Explorative secondary depression (4/9) and pain-related (4/6) outcomes were in part significant (p < 0.05). Health-related quality of life was significantly higher in the IG. No differences were found in work capacity.

Conclusion: The results indicate that an IMI for patients with CBP and depression in a routine care setting has limited impact on depression. Benefits in pain and health-related outcomes suggest that an IMI might still be a useful measure to improve routine care.