Can a friendly phone call lift seniors out of depression? new study aims to find out.
NCT ID NCT06257095
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests an 8-week social engagement program for seniors who have recently left Adult Protective Services after experiencing elder abuse or self-neglect. The program pairs each senior with a trained student volunteer who makes weekly calls to reduce loneliness and depression. Researchers will track changes in social support, loneliness, and depression using standard questionnaires.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 400 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2023
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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65 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: Older Adults * an APS validated EM/SN case * able to provide informed consent * able to speaks English or Spanish * able to hear sufficiently using the telephone * transitioning out of APS intervention (i.e. in the case closure phase of the APS service). Student * college or university student * enrolled in a health-related program * commit to making 8-weekly consecutive calls * complete the required 1-hour training and assessment. Exclusion Criteria: Older Adults * Individuals needing a proxy to consent * suspected or confirmed decision-making capacity impairments or uncontrolled psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia, paranoia, delusion, or delirium Student -only engaging in the program to fulfill some educational requirement
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
RECRUITINGHouston, Texas, 77030, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a friendly video chat lift depression in older adults?
- Could a simple talk therapy reduce depression and neglect in vulnerable seniors?
- Could a simple pill stop depression after a broken bone?
- Exercise may sharpen aging brains after depression
- Can education, counseling, or therapy best prevent depression in seniors?
- Friendly video chats may lift depression in older adults