Psychologists have been awarded a £1.5m grant to look at the clinical and cost-effectiveness of AI-driven stratified care for depression.
Professor Jaime Delgadillo and Professor Michael Barkham, along with the Sheffield Clinical Trials Research Unit and co-applicants from other partner institutions have been awarded the funding from the National Institute for Healthcare Research (NIHR) in 2023.
At least one in six adults in England suffer with depression and anxiety symptoms. Over a million people with these symptoms are referred for talking therapies in the NHS. Most patients are initially offered brief talking therapies lasting around six sessions, after which they can access more intensive therapies lasting up to 20 sessions.
Prof Delgadillo, lead researcher on the study, explained that the problem with this approach is that at least half of patients don’t benefit from brief interventions and either drop out of treatment or end up waiting a long time to access more appropriately intensive therapies.
To address this problem, the team has collaborated with industry partners to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) tool called StratCare, a computer programme that guides NHS therapists to ask new patients a few questions about their symptoms and personal characteristics (like age and ethnicity).
The system then makes a recommendation for either a brief or an intensive talking therapy available in the NHS. The patient can then discuss this recommendation with the therapist to decide if it’s a good choice for them, or to consider other options.
Previous research has found that using the StratCare tool has helped more people to recover from depression compared to usual NHS care.
“In this new study, we will carry out a clinical trial involving several NHS services across England,” said Prof Delgadillo.
“Some services will use the StratCare tool, and other services will follow the usual approach to recommend talking therapies. We will then contact patients who have agreed to take part in the study to see if their mood and quality of life has improved after six, 12 and 18 months. We will also interview therapists and patients to see what they think about treatment recommendations being guided by the StratCare tool.
“This study will help talking therapy services and policy makers to decide if using StratCare helps more patients to recover from depression and if it is affordable for the NHS.”