Development of a baseline battery to optimize depression treatment assignment in primary care: Balancing breadth and brevity

This study shows how a structured, data-driven development process can yield a scientifically robust baseline assessment battery capturing a broad range of candidate treatment moderators. The battery will undergo further refinement following the results of the OptimizeD trial, which will identify the subset of baseline characteristics that meaningfully predict differential treatment response. While not intended as an implementation-ready clinical tool, the development framework presented here may help guide other researchers conducting similar precision treatment studies, particularly in resource-constrained settings.