Open AccessThe Chronic Conditions Course: A Randomised Controlled Trial of an Internet-Delivered Transdiagnostic Psychological Intervention for People with Chronic Health Conditions
Author(s) -
Blake F. Dear,
Allan Scott,
Rhian Fogliati,
Milena Gandy,
Eyal Karin,
J Dudeney,
Olav Nielssen,
Sarah McDonald,
Andreea I. Heriseanu,
Madelyne A. Bisby,
Louise Sharpe,
Michael Jones,
Shehzad Ali,
Nickolai Titov
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
psychotherapy and psychosomatics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.531
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 1423-0348
pISSN - 0033-3190
DOI - 10.1159/000522530
Subject(s) - anxiety , psychosocial , psychology , depression (economics) , intervention (counseling) , cognitive behavioral therapy , randomized controlled trial , medicine , psychological intervention , psychiatry , clinical psychology , economics , macroeconomics
Psychological adjustment to chronic health conditions is important, as poor adjustment predicts a range of adverse medical and psychosocial outcomes. Psychological treatments demonstrate efficacy for people with chronic health conditions, but existing research takes a disorder-specific approach and they are predominately delivered in face-to-face contexts. The internet and remotely delivered treatments have the potential to overcome barriers to accessing traditional face-to-face treatment. Objective: The current study examined the efficacy and acceptability of an internet-delivered transdiagnostic psychological intervention to promote adjustment to illness, based on cognitive behaviour therapy principles. Methods: In a two-arm randomised controlled trial, participants ( n = 676) were randomly allocated to the 8-week intervention or a waitlist control. Treatment included five core lessons, homework tasks, additional resources, and weekly contact with a psychologist. Primary outcomes included depression, anxiety, and disability, assessed at pre-treatment, post-treatment, 3-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up. Results: The treatment group reported significantly greater improvements in depression (between-groups d = 0.47), anxiety ( d = 0.32), and disability ( d = 0.17) at post-treatment (all ps <0.001). Improvements were sustained over the 3-month and 12-month follow-ups. High treatment completion rates (69%) and levels of satisfaction (86%) were reported by participants in treatment. The intervention required a mean clinician time of 56.70 min per participant. Conclusions: The findings provide preliminary and tentative support for the potential of internet-delivered transdiagnostic interventions to promote adjustment to chronic health conditions. Further research using robust control groups, and exploring the generalisability of findings, is needed before firm conclusions can be drawn.