Recruiting

Moodivate

Sponsor:

Medical University of South Carolina

Code:

NCT07634705

Conditions

Depression

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Behavioral Activation Therapy App

Telehealth Delivered Behavioral Activation

Study Details

Brief summary:

This pilot, three-arm randomized clinical trial (N=40; 2:1:1) will evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a digitally enhanced stepped-care approach for depression treatment in primary care. Participants will be randomized to: (1) stepped-care beginning with a self-guided Behavioral Activation app (Moodivate), with stepping to clinician-delivered telebehavioral health Behavioral Activation at Week 2 based on app engagement and early PHQ-9 change; (2) telebehavioral health Behavioral Activation; or (3) Moodivate alone. The primary endpoint is feasibility of the stepped-care approach, defined as continued engagement after stepping (≥1 Moodivate use/week for >4 weeks or ≥4 therapy sessions). The secondary endpoint is change in PHQ-9 scores from baseline through Week 12. The study will be conducted within MUSC Primary Care clinics across South Carolina using remote screening, e-consent, and REDCap assessments.

Conditions

Depression

Study ID

NCT07634705

Start date

Jul 2, 2026

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

Jun, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jun, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • elevated depression symptoms (score of >=10 on the PHQ-9)
  • age >=18 years
  • owns an iOS or Android smartphone
  • willing to use Moodivate
  • willing to engage in telehealth depression treatment
  • access to email or text messaging (for assessments)
  • English fluency

Exclusion Criteria:

  • current receipt of psychosocial depression treatment (e.g., individual or group therapy)
  • current suicidal ideation, defined as a response >=1 ("several days") on PHQ-9 item nine
  • does not live in the state of South Carolina

Study Design

Enrollment

40 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Digitally-Enhanced Stepped Care

Participants randomized to the Digitally-Enhanced Stepped Care condition will be instructed to utilize a Behavioral Activation therapy focused mobile application called "Moodivate" regularly, at least once per day, for the treatment of depressed mood among cancer survivors. Participants in the Digitally-Enhanced Stepped Care group will receive a download code to download the Moodivate mobile application. Moodivate is a mobile app for individuals with elevated symptoms of depression. Within the app, users identify values, create activities, schedule activities, and rate mood daily. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaire measures at baseline and weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12. App engagement will be passively monitored for two weeks following initial download to determine whether care needs to be stepped up to guideline-concordant standard care.

experimental: Moodivate Only

Participants randomized to the Moodivate condition will be instructed to utilize Moodivate regularly, at least once per day, for the treatment of depressed mood. Participants in the Moodivate group will receive a download code to download the Moodivate mobile application. Moodivate is a mobile app for individuals with elevated symptoms of depression. Within the app, users identify values, create activities, schedule activities, and rate mood daily. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaire measures at baseline and weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12.

active comparator: Telebehavioral Health

Participants randomized to the Telebehavioral Health condition will receive 8 sessions of telehealth-delivered Behavioral Activation therapy with a mental health provider over a 10 week period. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaire measures at baseline and weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10.

Interventions

Behavioral Activation Therapy App

Moodivate focuses on tracking daily activities, recording daily mood, and identifying new activities to complete that may help improve mood. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaire measures at baseline and weeks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12.

Telehealth Delivered Behavioral Activation

8 sessions of telehealth-delivered Behavioral Activation with a mental health provider over a 10-week period.

Primary outcome measure

  • Feasibility of Digitally Enhanced Stepped-Care [ Time Frame: 12 weeks ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Noelle Natale

843-876-9457natalen@musc.edu

McKay Lucas

843-876-2611lucasmc@musc.edu

Locations

Medical University of South Carolina

Recruiting

Charleston, South Carolina, United States, 29425

Contacts

Jennifer Dahne, PhD

843-876-2280dahne@musc.edu

Principal Investigator:

Jennifer Dahne, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

Medical University of South Carolina

Last update posted

Jul 9, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Medical University of South Carolina on 2026-07-09.