Qualitative Lead(s)
Professor Vanessa Lawrence
Project Lead & Team
Chief Investigator: Cynthia Fu
Multidisciplinary collaboration including psychiatrists, psychologists, trialists, statisticians, health economists, and lived-experience researchers.
Project Dates
2025–ongoing
Funding Source(s)
NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme
Qualitative Design used
Field of Research
Depression; neuromodulation interventions; clinical trials; process evaluation; implementation research.
Geographic/Contextual Setting
Multi-site NHS primary and secondary care mental-health services across the UK.
Home-based Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Major Depressive Disorder
HOME is an ongoing NIHR HTA–funded multi-centre pragmatic randomised controlled trial evaluating the clinical and cost-effectiveness of home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) within NHS care pathways. The study includes an embedded qualitative process evaluation examining participant and clinician experiences of the intervention, mechanisms of impact, and implementation processes to inform interpretation of trial outcomes and future service implementation.
Qualitative Approach and Methods
Aim of the qualitative component
To explore participant and clinician experiences of home-based tDCS, examine mechanisms through which the intervention influences outcomes, and identify barriers and facilitators to implementation and adherence within NHS care settings.
Qualitative methodology
A qualitative process evaluation embedded within a pragmatic multi-site randomised controlled trial.
Which qualitative methods were used?
- Individual interviews with trial participants across intervention and control arms at end of treatment and follow-up.
- Individual interviews with clinicians involved in prescribing and delivering the intervention.
Sampling & recruitment
Participants are recruited from individuals enrolled in the HOME trial across participating NHS sites, alongside clinicians involved in treatment delivery. Purposive sampling ensures variation across treatment arms, participant characteristics, and service contexts.
Data analysis: how the team made sense of the data
Interview data are analysed using the framework approach to examine mechanisms of impact, contextual influences on outcomes, and implementation processes, supporting integration of qualitative findings with trial outcome data.
Findings, Learning & Impact
Summary of main findings
Data collection and analysis are ongoing. The qualitative component is expected to provide insight into treatment acceptability, adherence processes, and implementation challenges associated with delivering home-based neuromodulation interventions in routine NHS care.
Why were qualitative methods used in this project, and what did they enable?
Qualitative research enables the study to:
- Understand how participants experience home-based tDCS in everyday life.
- Identify mechanisms influencing adherence and treatment engagement.
- Examine clinician perspectives on prescribing and implementation.
- Inform future scalability and implementation planning.
Lessons learnt / reflections?
As the project is ongoing, qualitative findings are being generated to support interpretation of trial outcomes and to inform planning of future service implementation strategies.
Impact & influence
The HOME qualitative programme is generating acceptability and implementation evidence that will inform integration of home-based neuromodulation treatments into NHS care pathways for depression.