Telephone Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Targeting Major Depression Among Urban Dwelling, Low Income People Living with HIV/AIDS: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluated a previously developed manualized telephone based cognitive behavioral therapy (T-CBT) intervention compared to face-to-face (f2f) therapy among low-income, urban dwelling HIV infected depressed individuals. The primary outcome was the reduction of depressive symptoms as measured by the Hamliton rating scale for depression scale. The secondary outcome was adherence to HAART as measured by random telephone based pill counts. Outcome measures were collected by trained research assistants masked to treatment allocation. Analysis was based on intention-to-treat. Thirty-four participants met eligibility criteria and were randomly assigned to receive T-CBT (n = 16) or f2f (n = 18). There was no statistically significant difference in depression treatment outcomes comparing f2f to T-CBT. Within group evaluation demonstrated that both the T-CBT and the f2f psychotherapy groups resulted in significant reductions in depressive symptoms. Those who received the T-CBT were significantly more likely to maintain their adherence to antiretroviral medication compared to the f2f treatment. None of the participants discontinued treatment due to adverse events. T-CBT can be delivered to low-income, urban dwelling HIV infected depressed individuals resulting in significant reductions in depression symptoms and improved adherence to antiretroviral medication. Trial Registry: Clinical Trial.gov identifier: NCT01055158.