Improved outcomes for depressed elder abuse victims with video-delivered psychotherapy during COVID-19.

Objective: There is a lack of evidence-based scalable therapies for elder abuse victims, with no current remotely delivered tailored psychotherapy. The purpose of this manuscript is to (a) examine the effectiveness of a brief therapy for depression for elder abuse victims, and (b) to compare remote intervention delivery via phone or video to the traditional in-person delivery.

Method: PROTECT, Providing Options to Elderly Clients Together, is a brief therapy developed in collaboration with partners at the Department for the Aging (DFTA) of New York City. During the COVID-19 outbreak, PROTECT delivery shifted from in-person to phone or video delivery. Depression severity was tracked using the Patient Health Questionaire-9 (PHQ-9). Reduction in depression severity was evaluated using a linear mixed effects model with non-inferiority test to compare the effectiveness of video vs in-person delivery of PROTECT.

Results: PROTECT reduced depression (average 5.15 PHQ-9 points). Video and phone delivery were non-inferior to in-person delivery. The video group completed therapy more quickly than the in-person group and had a more rapid improvement in depression symptoms.

Conclusions: PROTECT therapy delivered remotely reduces depression among diverse elder abuse victims. Video delivery of PROTECT could increase reach and scalability to serve more vulnerable older depressed victims.