BEFRIENding for Depression, Anxiety and Social support in older adults living in Australian residential aged care facilities (BEFRIENDAS): randomised controlled trial protocol

doi:10.1186/s12877-021-02233-7

. 2021 May 12;21(1):305.

doi: 10.1186/s12877-021-02233-7.

BEFRIENding for Depression, Anxiety and Social support in older adults living in Australian residential aged care facilities (BEFRIENDAS): randomised controlled trial protocol

Colleen Doyle^{1

2

3}, Sunil Bhar⁴, Christina Bryant⁵, Briony Dow^{6

7

8}, David Dunt⁸, George Mnatzaganian⁹, Daniel O'Connor¹⁰, Julie Ratcliffe¹¹, Emily You¹², Anne-Marie Bagnall¹³, Georgia Major⁶, Robin Harper⁶, Marcia Fearn⁶

Affiliations

¹ Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Poplar Road, Parkville, 3052, Australia. c.doyle@nari.edu.au.
² Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University, John Street, Hawthorn, 3122, Australia. c.doyle@nari.edu.au.
³ School of Nursing and Midwifery, Deakin University, Burwood Highway, Burwood, 3125, Australia. c.doyle@nari.edu.au.
⁴ Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University, John Street, Hawthorn, 3122, Australia.
⁵ Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, Parkville, 3010, Australia.
⁶ Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Poplar Road, Parkville, 3052, Australia.
⁷ School of Nursing and Midwifery, Deakin University, Burwood Highway, Burwood, 3125, Australia.
⁸ School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, Parkville, 3010, Australia.
⁹ La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Bendigo, 3552, Australia.
¹⁰ Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, 3800, Australia.
¹¹ Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, 5042, Australia.
¹² Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, The University of Melbourne, Poplar Road, Parkville, 3052, Australia.
¹³ Leeds-Beckett University, Leeds, LS1 3HE, United Kingdom.

PMID: 33980168
PMCID: PMC8115389
DOI: 10.1186/s12877-021-02233-7

BEFRIENding for Depression, Anxiety and Social support in older adults living in Australian residential aged care facilities (BEFRIENDAS): randomised controlled trial protocol

Colleen Doyle et al. BMC Geriatr. 2021.

. 2021 May 12;21(1):305.

doi: 10.1186/s12877-021-02233-7.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Poplar Road, Parkville, 3052, Australia. c.doyle@nari.edu.au.
² Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University, John Street, Hawthorn, 3122, Australia. c.doyle@nari.edu.au.
³ School of Nursing and Midwifery, Deakin University, Burwood Highway, Burwood, 3125, Australia. c.doyle@nari.edu.au.
⁴ Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University, John Street, Hawthorn, 3122, Australia.
⁵ Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, Parkville, 3010, Australia.
⁶ Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Poplar Road, Parkville, 3052, Australia.
⁷ School of Nursing and Midwifery, Deakin University, Burwood Highway, Burwood, 3125, Australia.
⁸ School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, Parkville, 3010, Australia.
⁹ La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, Bendigo, 3552, Australia.
¹⁰ Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, 3800, Australia.
¹¹ Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, 5042, Australia.
¹² Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, The University of Melbourne, Poplar Road, Parkville, 3052, Australia.
¹³ Leeds-Beckett University, Leeds, LS1 3HE, United Kingdom.

PMID: 33980168
PMCID: PMC8115389
DOI: 10.1186/s12877-021-02233-7

Erratum in

Correction: BEFRIENding for depression, anxiety and social support in older adults living in Australian residential aged care facilities (BEFRIENDAS): randomised controlled trial protocol.
Doyle C, Bhar S, Bryant C, Dow B, Dunt D, Mnatzaganian G, O'Connor D, Ratcliffe J, You E, Bagnall AM, Major G, Harper R, Fearn M. Doyle C, et al. BMC Geriatr. 2025 Jul 15;25(1):529. doi: 10.1186/s12877-025-06181-4. BMC Geriatr. 2025. PMID: 40665207 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

Background: This protocol describes an ongoing study of the impact of befriending on depression, anxiety and loneliness in older people living in residential aged care facilities in Australia. While systematic reviews of befriending have indicated positive benefits of befriending for people in a range of ages and settings, there have been no randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of befriending for older people living in residential aged care with depression and no studies of the cost effectiveness of befriending in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) in Australia.

Methods and analysis: We are conducting a single blind pragmatic RCT comparing two groups of older people living in RACFs, one receiving an intervention consisting of weekly befriending for 4 months from a trained volunteer and the other receiving treatment as usual. Participants undergo eligibility screening for depression (GDS-15 ≥ 4) and cognitive impairment (GPCog ≥ 4) and assessments at three measurement time points: baseline prior to randomisation, 2 months post-baseline and 4 months post-baseline. The primary outcome measure is depression, and secondary outcome measures are anxiety, loneliness, social isolation and quality of life. The economic evaluation will take the form of a cost-utility analysis based on the outcome of quality of life. The primary and secondary outcomes will be analysed using negative binomial and logistic regressions utilizing the Generalised Estimating Equations approach.

Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first RCT evaluating the effectiveness of befriending on older people with depression living in residential aged care. It is expected that the befriending intervention will reduce the severity of depression symptoms experienced by older people living in residential aged care. If the intervention proves effective it may be incorporated into volunteer training programs and adopted as a way of supporting older people's mental health.

Trial registration: Trial registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ANZCTR) Number: ACTRN12619000676112 , registered 06/05/2019 - retrospectively registered.

Keywords: Anxiety; Befriending; Depression; Loneliness; Volunteers.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Hypothesized mediating variables between befriending and depression

**Fig. 2**
Flow chart of participant flow

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Correction: BEFRIENding for depression, anxiety and social support in older adults living in Australian residential aged care facilities (BEFRIENDAS): randomised controlled trial protocol.
Doyle C, Bhar S, Bryant C, Dow B, Dunt D, Mnatzaganian G, O'Connor D, Ratcliffe J, You E, Bagnall AM, Major G, Harper R, Fearn M. Doyle C, et al. BMC Geriatr. 2025 Jul 15;25(1):529. doi: 10.1186/s12877-025-06181-4. BMC Geriatr. 2025. PMID: 40665207 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

See all "Cited by" articles

References

1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Depression in residential aged care 2008–2012. Aged care statistics series no. 39 cat. No. AGE 73. Canberra: AIHW; 2013.
1. Amare AT, Caughey GE, Whitehead C, Lang CE, Bray SC, Corlis M, et al. The prevalence, trends and determinants of mental health disorders in older Australians living in permanent residential aged care: implications for policy and quality of aged care services. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2020;54(12):1200–11. 10.1177/0004867420945367. - PubMed
1. Simning A, Simons KV. Treatment of depression in nursing home residents without significant cognitive impairment: a systematic review. Int Psychogeriatr. 2017;29(2):209–26. 10.1017/S1041610216001733. - PMC - PubMed
1. Phillips CJ, Henderson AS. The prevalence of depression among Australian nursing home residents: results using draft ICD-10 and DSM-III-R criteria. Psychol Med. 1991;21(3):739–48. 10.1017/S0033291700022376. - PubMed
1. Henderson AS, Jorm AF, MacKinnon A, Christensen H, Scott LR, Korten AE, et al. The prevalence of depressive disorders and the distribution of depressive symptoms in later life: a survey using draft ICD-10 and DSM-III-R. Psychol Med. 1993;23(3):719–29. 10.1017/S0033291700025496. - PubMed

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[1] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Depression in residential aged care 2008–2012. Aged care statistics series no. 39 cat. No. AGE 73. Canberra: AIHW; 2013.

[2] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Depression in residential aged care 2008–2012. Aged care statistics series no. 39 cat. No. AGE 73. Canberra: AIHW; 2013.

[3] Amare AT, Caughey GE, Whitehead C, Lang CE, Bray SC, Corlis M, et al. The prevalence, trends and determinants of mental health disorders in older Australians living in permanent residential aged care: implications for policy and quality of aged care services. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2020;54(12):1200–11. 10.1177/0004867420945367. - PubMed

[4] Amare AT, Caughey GE, Whitehead C, Lang CE, Bray SC, Corlis M, et al. The prevalence, trends and determinants of mental health disorders in older Australians living in permanent residential aged care: implications for policy and quality of aged care services. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2020;54(12):1200–11. 10.1177/0004867420945367. - PubMed

[5] Simning A, Simons KV. Treatment of depression in nursing home residents without significant cognitive impairment: a systematic review. Int Psychogeriatr. 2017;29(2):209–26. 10.1017/S1041610216001733. - PMC - PubMed

[6] Simning A, Simons KV. Treatment of depression in nursing home residents without significant cognitive impairment: a systematic review. Int Psychogeriatr. 2017;29(2):209–26. 10.1017/S1041610216001733. - PMC - PubMed

[7] Phillips CJ, Henderson AS. The prevalence of depression among Australian nursing home residents: results using draft ICD-10 and DSM-III-R criteria. Psychol Med. 1991;21(3):739–48. 10.1017/S0033291700022376. - PubMed

[8] Phillips CJ, Henderson AS. The prevalence of depression among Australian nursing home residents: results using draft ICD-10 and DSM-III-R criteria. Psychol Med. 1991;21(3):739–48. 10.1017/S0033291700022376. - PubMed

[9] Henderson AS, Jorm AF, MacKinnon A, Christensen H, Scott LR, Korten AE, et al. The prevalence of depressive disorders and the distribution of depressive symptoms in later life: a survey using draft ICD-10 and DSM-III-R. Psychol Med. 1993;23(3):719–29. 10.1017/S0033291700025496. - PubMed

[10] Henderson AS, Jorm AF, MacKinnon A, Christensen H, Scott LR, Korten AE, et al. The prevalence of depressive disorders and the distribution of depressive symptoms in later life: a survey using draft ICD-10 and DSM-III-R. Psychol Med. 1993;23(3):719–29. 10.1017/S0033291700025496. - PubMed

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BEFRIENding for Depression, Anxiety and Social support in older adults living in Australian residential aged care facilities (BEFRIENDAS): randomised controlled trial protocol

Affiliations

BEFRIENding for Depression, Anxiety and Social support in older adults living in Australian residential aged care facilities (BEFRIENDAS): randomised controlled trial protocol

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