A Self-Applied Multi-Component Psychological Online Intervention Based on UX, for the Prevention of Complicated Grief Disorder in the Mexican Population During the COVID-19 Outbreak: Protocol of a Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 has taken many lives worldwide and due to this, millions of persons are in grief. When the grief process lasts longer than 6 months, the person is in risk of developing Complicated Grief Disorder (CGD). The CGD is related to serious health consequences. To reduce the probability of developing CGD a preventive intervention could be applied. In developing countries like Mexico, the psychological services are scarce, self-applied interventions could provide support to solve this problem and reduce the health impact even after the pandemic has already finished.Aims: To design and implement a self-applied intervention composed of 12 modules focused on the decrease of the risk of developing CGD, and increasing the life quality, and as a secondary objective to reduce the symptomatology of anxiety, depression, and increase of sleep quality. The Intervention Duelo COVID (Grief COVID) follows the principles of User Experience (UX) and is designed according to the needs and desires of a sample of the objective participants, to increase the adherence to the self-applied intervention, considered one of the main weaknesses of online interventions.Methods: A Randomized Controlled Trial will be conducted from the 22nd of December of 2020 to the first of June 2021. The participants will be assigned to an intervention with elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness and Positive Psychology. The control group will be a wait-list condition, that will receive the intervention 1.5–2 months after the pre-measurement were taken. The Power Size Calculation conducted through G*Power indicated the need for a total of 42 participants, which will be divided by 21 participants in each group. The platform will be delivered through responsive design assuring with this that the intervention will adapt to the screen size of cellphones, tablets, and computers.Ethics and Dissemination: The study counts with the approval of the Research Ethics Committee of the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez, México, and it is registered in Clinical Trials (NCT04638842). The article is sent and registered in clinical trials before the recruitment started. The results will be reported in future conferences, scientific publications, and media.

Prevalence of Anxiety Symptoms and Associated Clinical and Sociodemographic Factors in Mexican Adults Seeking Psychological Support for Grief During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Given these risk factors and psychological needs, the online intervention Duelo COVID , a self-guided treatment that provides psychological intervention aimed at preventing the development of complicated grief in the Mexican population during the COVID-19 pandemic, was created ( 19 ). This online platform was designed for those who have experienced a bereavement during the pandemic, regardless if it was due to COVID-19 or another cause during the pandemic.…”

A Perspective on How User-Centered Design Could Improve the Impact of Self-Applied Psychological Interventions in Low- or Middle-Income Countries in Latin America

“…Regarding Latin America, the UCD is not commonly mentioned or indicated in online interventions, with only few exceptions such as Antelo et al ( 36 ), where the authors presented a Counseling Mobile App designed on the UCD approach to women in low- and middle-income setting in Argentina aimed at the reduction of the psychosocial impact of the human papilloma virus. In Mexico, Dominguez-Rodriguez et al, ( 37 ) designed, developed, and implemented a self-applied intervention based on user experience (UX) principles in order to decrease the risk of developing complicated grief disorder, increase the life and sleep quality, and reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. Also in Mexico, Pérez-Bautista et al ( 38 ), designed and evaluated an online intervention for young Mexican deaf for transfer of sexual education using a UCD design and involving objective participants (deaf youngs) on the design process.…”

Commentary: The psychological and social impact of COVID-19: New perspectives of well-being

“…Telepsychology is effective in the assessment and treatment of different clinical conditions, such as depression and anxiety (Karyotaki et al, 2021;Pauley et al, 2021) substance abuse and eating disorders (Taylor et al, 2021). Also, in interventions for emotional care in COVID hospitals (Landa-Ramírez et al, 2021;Sampaio et al, 2021) and grief (Dominguez-Rodriguez et al, 2021), among others. Some meta-analyses reveal its efficacy is comparable to traditional face-to-face treatments (Cuijpers et al, 2009;Andersson et al, 2019;Sora et al, 2022).…”