Clinical Research Directory

Pursuing the Triple Aim in Hotspotters: Identification and Integrated Care

Hotspotters are patients with complex care needs, defined by problems in multiple life domains and high acute care use. These patients often receive mismatched care, resulting in overuse of care and increased healthcare costs. Reliable data on (cost-)effective interventions for these patients are scarce. The goal of this study is to assess the cost-effectiveness of pro-active and integrated care. This approach includes: an intake consultation with Positive Health; multidisciplinary meetings with physician, mental healthcare nurse, social worker and the patient; a personalised care plan and proactive care management. We aim to include 200 patients, divided over 20 primary care practices.

Community Health Workers in Pediatric Patients With Newly Diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes

The primary aim of this pilot randomized controlled trial is to determine if the integration of a Community Health Worker (CHW) into the healthcare team of children with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes is associated with an improvement in diabetes control. The secondary objectives are to determine if utilization of CHWs is also associated with improvements in psychosocial outcomes, healthcare utilization, and decreased costs.

Medical Improvisation Study

This study offers improvisation training for otolaryngology residents to see if there is any impact on connection, stress, and mood. A control group of otolaryngology residents continues their standard medical education with no improvisation.

Evaluating the Feasibility of a School-based Stepped Care Program for Internalizing Symptoms in Adolescents in Pakistan

This study aims to explore effective ways to reduce depressive symptoms in adolescents through two school-based interventions. This study examines whether the Enhanced School Mental Health Program (eSMHP) Plus, delivered by teachers and non-specialists, can serve as a first-line intervention to reduce psychosocial distress-an intermediate outcome that must be addressed to lower the risk of depression (primary outcome) in adolescents. For those who do not respond to eSMHP Plus, the study investigates if a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) based guided self-help app could be an effective step-up or second-level intervention. Researchers will assess the feasibility and acceptability of these approaches among 200 adolescents (aged 13-15) from 8 public schools in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Findings will guide future large-scale studies and strategies for personalised mental health care for adolescents in low-resource settings.

Peer2Me: A Peer Supported Program for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients

The present bicentric study has the aim to investigate the effectiveness of the peer supported mentoring program 'Peer2Me' with regard to psychosocial parameters using a prospective Comprehensive Cohort Design. Over a period of three months, acutely ill patients in the intervention group are accompanied by a mentor with the same disease and of similar age. Patients in the control group receive a one-time consultation. Before and after the intervention, mentors and mentees are interviewed about their psychosocial distress and quality of life.

Telepsychiatry for Social Isolation in Youths

This clinical trial aims to implement multimodal digital interventions for adolescents and young adults with social isolation (SI) and their family members. Furthermore, the neurobiological basis of SI will be explored by analyzing blood neuroinflammation biomarkers in socially isolated participants. The main questions that this project aims to answer are: * What is the general feasibility and applicability of the proposed digital interventions? * What is the effect of the proposed digital interventions on the SI-related clinical symptoms and the cognitive and global functioning of participants with SI? Participants will be asked to undergo: * A detailed clinical and neuropsychological evaluation (pre-post treatment) * A blood sample (pre-post treatment) * A telepsychiatry intervention (cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and/or cognitive remediation (CR) for SI participants and psychoeducation (PE) for family members) The researchers will compare SI participants treated with CBT+CR (experimental group) with SI patients treated only with CBT (control group) to see if the combined intervention of the experimental group leads to more durable and generalizable effects. The same PE intervention will be offered to the family members of all recruited SI participants.