In Case of an Emergency: The Development and Effects of a Digital Intervention for Coping With Distress in Norway During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences has been found to negatively affect the general population’s psychological well-being.Objective: The objectives of this paper are to report on the development and clinical effects of a self-guided Internet-delivered intervention for adults in Norway who suffer from mild to moderate psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: The participants, recruited between April and December 2020, were randomized to receive a new treatment module either every third or every fifth day. The clinical outcomes were self-reported depressive and anxiety symptoms and change in positive and negative emotions.Results: A total of 1256 individuals accessed the pre-screening survey, 407 were eligible and 92 provided contact information, where 82 were included in the study, n = 44 in the 3-day group and n = 38 in the 5-day group. Overall, the statistical analyses showed a significant decrease in depressive and anxiety symptoms and an increase in positive emotions, with small and moderate within group effect sizes. No significant differences between the groups were identified in clinical outcomes or adherence.Conclusion: These findings indicate that psychological distress in the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic may be reduced through the use of a scalable self-guided Internet-delivered intervention. Furthermore, the lack of significant differences between the 5-day and 3-day group may indicate that the intervention can be delivered at a more intensive pace without negatively affecting treatment outcomes. The results need to be interpreted with caution as the sample was self-selected, as well as the lack of passive control group. Hence the results may be attributed to external factors.

Efficacy of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression and Anxiety among Global Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial Study

“…We found 12 eligible studies for systematic review and extracted 9 for meta-analysis; 10 studies were extracted for depression meta-analysis and eight for anxiety meta-analysis [ 22 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]. These studies were included because they contained sufficient data for quantitative analysis.…”

“…The mean age of participants was 22, and they were further randomized into the intervention group and control group, or several follow-up intervention groups. Interventions involved iCBT and were conducted over several sessions, which were then assessed with standardized tools, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) questionnaire, Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI), State Anxiety Inventory-Form Y1 (STAI-Y1), and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) questionnaire [ 22 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]. Detailed literature search procedures are presented in Table 1 .…”

“…Interestingly, our meta-analysis evaluated adherence, and the results are provided in Table 2 . The results show that adherence serves as a good predictor and moderator, which suggests that clinician-guided delivery is more acceptable than self-guided intervention [ 22 , 33 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ]. This type of information can be beneficial in considering the implementation strategy.…”

Towards adaptive technology in routine mental health care

“… Early intervention and treatment for social anxiety disorder in VR-based exposure for adolescents with fear of public speaking, 30 psycho-social support for women after gynaecological cancer, 31 cognitive remediation of residual cognitive symptoms after major depressive disorder, 32 internet-delivered depression treatment in standard care, 33 internet delivered training program for adults with an ADHD diagnosis, 34 relapse prevention and early detection for bipolar disorder, 35 and coping with distress related to COVID-19. 36 …”

“…ADHD diagnosis, 34 6. relapse prevention and early detection for bipolar disorder, 35 and 7. coping with distress related to COVID-19. 36 The cases listed above represent self-help and guided treatment in primary and secondary health care services. The cases involve age groups from adolescents to older people with primary psychiatric and somatic disorders.…”