The Evaluation of a Web-Based Intervention (Deprexis) toDecrease Depression and Restore Functioning in Veterans:Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Depressive symptoms are common in veterans, and the presence of these symptoms increases disability as wellas suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, there is evidence that these symptoms often go untreated. Intervening beforesymptoms become severe and entrenched is related to better long-term outcomes, including improved functioning and less diseasechronicity. Computer-delivered interventions may be especially appropriate for those veterans with mild to moderate depressivesymptoms, because these interventions can require fewer resources and have lower barriers to access and thus have potential forwider reach. Despite this potential, there is a dearth of research examining computerized interventions for depressive symptomsin veteran samples.Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of Deprexis (GAIA AG), a computerized intervention for depressivesymptoms and related functional impairment.Methods: Veterans will be recruited through the US Department of Veterans Affairs electronic medical record and throughprimary care and specialty clinics. First, qualitative interviews will be completed with a small subset of veterans (n=16-20) toassess the acceptability of treatment procedures. Next, veterans (n=132) with mild to moderate depressive symptoms will berandomly assigned to the fully automated Deprexis intervention or a treatment-as-usual control group. The primary outcomeswill be self-reported depressive symptoms and various dimensions of psychosocial functioning.Results: This project was funded in May 2024, and data collection will be conducted between October 2024 and April 2029.Overall, 4 participants have been recruited as of the submission of the manuscript, and data analysis is expected in June 2029,with initial results expected in November 2029.Conclusions: This study will provide initial evidence for the efficacy of self-guided, computerized interventions for depressivesymptoms and functional impairment in veterans. If effective, these types of interventions could improve veteran access tolow-resource psychosocial treatments.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06217198; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06217198International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/59119