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Minimal and Brief Treatments for Pathological Gamblers

U

University of Calgary

Status and phase

Completed
Phase 3

Conditions

Pathological Gambling

Treatments

Behavioral: Self-help treatment

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT00203645
1016 - OPGRC
110328 - CIHR

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of the study is to examine whether problem gamblers who receive therapy calls in addition to a self-help manual will be more likely to quit or cut back on their gambling when compared with problem gamblers who receive just the manual.

Full description

With gambling becoming more accessible, the occurrence of problems related to gambling are on the rise. The costs of problem gambling are enormous.There are social and economic costs, the gambler can sometimes lose a significant relationship, job, or commit an illegal activity. Pathological gamblers are also at risk for developing a general medical condition related to stress. There is a high risk of suicide and problem gamblers also have increased rates of mental health disorders. Relatively few people choose to attend formal treatment programs so it's important to provide a range of options to make treatment more accessible. The present study examines the effectiveness of minimal and brief interventions delivered by the telephone.

Comparison(s): The "Workbook Only Control" condition involves receiving the self-help booklet through the mail after a brief telephone assessment. The "Minimal Treatment" condition involves receiving the same workbook but also having a motivational enhancement intervention by telephone. The "Brief Treatment" condition provides the workbook, motivational enhancement, and follow-up support on six occasions spread over 36 weeks. The "Wait List Control" condition involves participants being assigned to a six week waiting list. Participants are assessed and after a six week waiting period they will have a reassessment at which time they will be sent the gambling self-help workbook.

Enrollment

312 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18+ years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

  • Over age 17
  • Perception of a gambling problem and a score of 3 or higher (moderate risk) on the Canadian Problem Gambling Index.
  • Not involved in treatment at present.
  • Willingness to read a short book written in English as a major treatment.
  • Willing to have telephone contacts recorded.
  • Willing to provide follow-up data on gambling.
  • Willing to provide the name of a collateral to help locate them for follow-up interviews.
  • Must have gambled at least once in the past month

Exclusion criteria

  • Participants in the preliminary study will be excluded.

Trial design

Primary purpose

Treatment

Allocation

Randomized

Interventional model

Factorial Assignment

Masking

Single Blind

312 participants in 4 patient groups

Brief self-directed treatment
Experimental group
Description:
self-help workbook plus motivational telephone intervention
Treatment:
Behavioral: Self-help treatment
Self-directed plus telephone support
Experimental group
Description:
Self-help workbook, motivational telephone intervention plus telephone booster calls
Treatment:
Behavioral: Self-help treatment
Workbook only
Active Comparator group
Description:
Workbook only
Treatment:
Behavioral: Self-help treatment
Waitlist
No Intervention group
Description:
Six week waitlist

Trial contacts and locations

1

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Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov

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