Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Trials
Published in: Trials 1/2024

Open Access 01-12-2024 | Mood Disorders | Research

Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial (BESST trial), a school-based cluster randomised controlled trial of the DISCOVER workshop for 16–18-year-olds: recruitment and baseline characteristics

Authors: Kirsty James, Stephen Lisk, Chloe Payne-Cook, Zamena Farishta, Maria Farrelly, Ayesha Sheikh, Monika Slusarczyk, Sarah Byford, Crispin Day, Jessica Deighton, Claire Evans, Peter Fonagy, David Saunders, Irene Sclare, James Shearer, Paul Stallard, Timothy Weaver, Jynna Yarrum, Ben Carter, June S. L. Brown

Published in: Trials | Issue 1/2024

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

The Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial (BESST) is an England-wide school-based cluster randomised controlled trial assessing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an open-access psychological workshop programme (DISCOVER) for 16–18-year-olds. This baseline paper describes the self-referral and other recruitment processes used in this study and the baseline characteristics of the enrolled schools and participants.

Method

We enrolled 900 participants from 57 Secondary schools across England from 4th October 2021 to 10th November 2022. Schools were randomised to receive either the DISCOVER day-long Stress workshop or treatment as usual which included signposting information. Participants will be followed up for 6 months with outcome data collection at baseline, 3-month, and 6-month post randomisation.

Results

Schools were recruited from a geographically and ethnically diverse sample across England. To reduce stigma, students were invited to self-refer into the study if they wanted help for stress. Their mean age was 17.2 (SD = 0.6), 641 (71%) were female and 411 (45.6%) were from ethnic minority groups. The general wellbeing of our sample measured using the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) found 314 (35%) of students exhibited symptoms of depression at baseline. Eighty percent of students reported low wellbeing on the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS) suggesting that although the overall sample mean is below the cut-off for depression, the self-referral approach used in this study supports distressed students in coming forward.

Conclusion

The BESST study will continue to follow up participants to collect outcome data and results will be analysed once all the data have been collected.

Trial registration

ISRCTN registry ISRCTN90912799. Registered on 28 May 2020.
Literature
1.
Kessler RC, Walters EE. Epidemiology of DSM-III-R major depression and minor depression among adolescents and young adults in the national comorbidity survey. Depress Anxiety. 1998;7(1):3–14.CrossRefPubMed
2.
Kim-Cohen J, Caspi A, Moffitt TE, Harrington H, Milne BJ, Poulton R. Prior juvenile diagnoses in adults with mental disorder: developmental follow-back of a prospective-longitudinal cohort. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2003;60(7):709–17.CrossRefPubMed
3.
4.
5.
Allen JP, Chango J, Szwedo D, Schad M. Long-term sequelae of subclinical depressive symptoms in early adolescence. Dev Psychopathol. 2014;26(1):171–80.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
6.
Ford T, Hamilton H, Meltzer H, Goodman R. Child mental health is everybody’’s business: the prevalence of contact with public sector services by type of disorder among British school children in a three-year period. Child Adolesc Mental Health. 2007;12(1):13–20.CrossRef
7.
Maxwell C, Yankah E, Warwick I, Hill V, Mehmedbegov D, Aggleton P. The emotional well-being and mental health of young Londoners: a focused review of evidence. London: Government Office for London; 2007.
8.
Michelson D, Day C. Improving attendance at child and adolescent mental health services for families from socially disadvantaged communities: evaluation of a pre-intake engagement intervention in the UK. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. 2014;41:252–61.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Stallard P, Udwin O, Goddard M, Hibbert S. The availability of cognitive behaviour therapy within specialist child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS): a national survey. Behav Cogn Psychother. 2007;35(4):501–5.CrossRef
10.
11.
Sclare I, Michelson D, Malpass L, Coster F, Brown J. Innovations in Practice: DISCOVER CBT workshops for 16–18-year-olds: development of an open-access intervention for anxiety and depression in inner-city youth. Child Adolesc Mental Health. 2015;20(2):102–6.CrossRef
12.
Brown JS, Cochrane R, Hancox T. Large-scale health promotion stress workshops for the general public: A controlled evaluation. Behav Cogn Psychother. 2000;28(2):139–51.CrossRef
13.
Kuyken W, Ball S, Crane C. Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of universal school-based mindfulness training compared with normal school provision in reducing risk of mental health problems and promoting well-being in adolescence: the MYRIAD cluster randomised controlled trial. BMJ Mental health. 2022;25:99–109.
14.
Gronholm PC, Nye E, Michelson D. Stigma related to targeted school-based mental health interventions: a systematic review of qualitative evidence. J Affect Disord. 2018;240:17–26.CrossRefPubMed
15.
16.
Brown JSL, et al. School-based early intervention for anxiety and depression in older adolescents: a feasibility randomised controlled trial of a self-referral stress management workshop programme (“DISCOVER”). J Adolesc. 2019;71:150–61.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Brown JSL, et al. How Can We Actually Change Help-Seeking Behaviour for Mental Health Problems among the General Public? Development of the ‘PLACES’ Model. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(5):2831.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
18.
Masood Y, et al. Synthesis of researcher reported strategies to recruit adults of ethnic minorities to clinical trials in the United Kingdom: a systematic review. Contemp Clin Trials. 2019;78:1–10.CrossRefPubMed
19.
Wallace N, et al. Underrecording and underreporting of participant ethnicity in clinical trials is persistent and is a threat to inclusivity and generalizability. J Clin Epidemiol. 2023;162:81–9.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Memon A, et al. Perceived barriers to accessing mental health services among black and minority ethnic communities: a qualitative study in southeast England. Lancet. 2016;388:S76.CrossRef
21.
Lisk S, Carter B, James K, Stallard P, Deighton J, Yarrum J, Fonagy P, Day C, Byford S, Shearer J, Weaver T. Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial (BESST): protocol for a school-based cluster randomised controlled trial of open-access psychological workshop programme for 16–18-year-olds. Trials. 2022;23(1):1–8.CrossRef
22.
Carter BR, Hood K. Balance algorithm for cluster randomized trials. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2008;8:1–8.CrossRef
23.
24.
Costello EJ, Angold A. Scales to assess child and adolescent depression: checklists, screens, and nets. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1988;27(6):726–37.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Lisk S, Sagar-Ouriaghli I, Carter B, Sclare I, Holly J, Brown JSL. Engaging older adolescent boys into school-based mental health workshops: testing theory-based facilitators and barriers in focus Groups. Am J Mens Health. 2023;17(5):15579883231177975. https://​doi.​org/​10.​1177/​1557988323117797​5.
26.
Achenbach TM. Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 and 1991 profile. Department of Psychiatry: University of Vermont; 1991.
27.
Chorpita BF, Moffitt C, Gray J. Psychometric properties of the revised child anxiety and depression scale in a clinical sample. Behav Res Ther. 2005;43:309–22.
28.
Stewart-Brown S, Janmohamed K. Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale. User guide. Version. 2008 Jun;1(10.1037).
29.
Espie CA, Kyle SD, Hames P, Gardani M, Fleming L, Cape J. The Sleep Condition Indicator: a clinical screening tool to evaluate insomnia disorder. BMJ Open. 2014;4(3):e004183.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
30.
Sullivan PW, Slejko JF, Mark J, Sculpher MJ, Ghushchyan V. Catalogue of eq5d scores for the united kingdom. Med Decis Making. 2011;31:800–4.CrossRefPubMed
31.
32.
33.
McManus S, Bebbington PE, Jenkins R, Brugha T. Mental health and wellbeing in England: the adult psychiatric morbidity survey 2014. NHS digital; 2016.
Metadata
Title
Brief Educational Workshops in Secondary Schools Trial (BESST trial), a school-based cluster randomised controlled trial of the DISCOVER workshop for 16–18-year-olds: recruitment and baseline characteristics
Authors
Kirsty James
Stephen Lisk
Chloe Payne-Cook
Zamena Farishta
Maria Farrelly
Ayesha Sheikh
Monika Slusarczyk
Sarah Byford
Crispin Day
Jessica Deighton
Claire Evans
Peter Fonagy
David Saunders
Irene Sclare
James Shearer
Paul Stallard
Timothy Weaver
Jynna Yarrum
Ben Carter
June S. L. Brown
Publication date
01-12-2024
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Trials / Issue 1/2024
Electronic ISSN: 1745-6215
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-024-08116-7

Other articles of this Issue 1/2024

Trials 1/2024 Go to the issue

Study protocol

Miracle friends and miracle money in California: a mixed-methods experiment of social support and guaranteed income for people experiencing homelessness

Study protocol

Optimization of cardiopulmonary bypass prime fluid to preserve microcirculatory perfusion during on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery: PRIME study protocol for a double-blind randomized trial

Study protocol

Total laparoscopic partial hepatectomy versus open partial hepatectomy for primary left-sided hepatolithiasis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Study protocol

Effectiveness of WeChat-assisted preoperative education to reduce perioperative anxiety in breast cancer patients: a prospective randomized controlled study protocol

Study protocol

Effectiveness of peer-led intervention in control of non-communicable diseases in rural areas of Khordha district: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

Methodology

Patient information leaflets for placebo-controlled surgical trials: a review of current practice and recommendations for developers