Recruiting

The Exhale Study: Treating Maternal Depression in an Urban Pediatric Asthma Clinic

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the effectiveness and implementation of delivering Enhanced Brief Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT-B), an evidence-based maternal depression treatment, to mothers of children under the age of 18 in an urban pediatric asthma clinic. Researchers will compare Enhanced IPT-B and supplemented usual care (brief care coordination). The main questions the trial aims to answer are: 1. Does Enhanced IPT-B decrease maternal depressive symptoms? 2. Does Enhanced IPT-B improve child…

ClinicalTrials.gov IDNCT06623981

PhaseNA

Enrollment60

SponsorChildren's National Research Institute

AgeNo minimum reported

SexALL

I'm interested View official listing

Conditions studied

Asthma in Children, Depression

About this study

Interventions

Behavioral: Enhanced Brief Interpersonal Psychotherapy — Enhanced IPT-B consists of a single, 45-60-minute pre-treatment engagement session followed by eight weekly, 45-minute individual sessions carried out within an 8-12-week timeframe.
Behavioral: Supplemented Usual Care — Usual care for caregivers with depressive symptoms involves the asthma clinic physician discussing the PHQ-9 results with the caregiver, providing brief psychoeducation on depression and giving the caregiver a written list of mental health resources. Usual care will be supplemented by providing short-term care coordination. Care coordination will involve assisting the participant in calling a mental health clinic to make an appointment and one follow-up phone call within two weeks.

Primary outcomes

Maternal depressive symptoms (T2 (3 months post-baseline))

Eligibility information

Inclusion Criteria: Maternal: * Primary caregiver of the child with asthma seen at the community-based asthma clinic * Female (self-identified) * Black (self-identified) * ≥ 18 years of age * English-speaking * PHQ-9 ≥ 8 during standardized screening at the child with asthma's clinic visit Child: * \<18 years old for the duration of the 6-month study period * Publicly insured * Physician-diagnosed persistent asthma Exclusion Criteria: Maternal: * Acutely suicidal (high risk on the C-SSRS at child's asthma clinic visit) * Bipolar disorder or mania * Schizophrenia * Current substance abuse/dependence * Current serious physical intimate partner violence (IPV) * Lack of capacity to meaningfully participate in study procedures, as assessed by study staff during screening Child: * Significant medical co-morbidity (e.g., disorders of the cardiorespiratory system, significant developmental delay, diabetes, seizure disorder, and sickle cell disease) * Enrolled in another intervention with a behavioral component and/or novel asthma therapeutics

Study locations

Children's National Hospital, Washington D.C., District of Columbia 20010 United States

Before you participate: Varda Clinical is an independent discovery tool, not the study sponsor or a medical provider. Eligibility can only be determined by the official study team. Discuss potential risks and benefits with a qualified healthcare professional.

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov. Record last refreshed by Varda Clinical: 2026-09-27.