"Old" projects such as our intervention were allocated a low priority.
Participants of the intervention are allocated to the intensive intervention or the advice intervention after filling out the baseline questionnaire.
Participants randomised to receive the 12 week intervention were allocated a trained lifestyle counsellor who delivered the intervention by 3 face to face consultations at monthly intervals (at a location most convenient for the participant).
A randomised controlled trial is also not appropriate because staff work across multiple sites and contamination could occur when staff who have been trained to deliver the intervention are allocated to treat a usual care patient.
Staff involved in delivering the HPL programme reported finding it very difficult when participants that they perceived would particularly benefit from the intervention were allocated to the self-managed programme.
After our communications with the head-teachers, two schools of which head-teachers were willing to implement the intervention were allocated to the intervention group, and the other two were allocated to the control group (one elementary school and one middle school in each group).
In many instances, a baseline survey is not needed when interventions are allocated by random assignment.
Based on our classification system interventions were allocated to 16 different classes (see Fig. 1).
Treatment interventions are allocated with consideration to depression severity and patient preference following guideline recommendations.
