Effectiveness of a stepped-care programme of internet-based psychological interventions for healthcare workers with psychological distress: study protocol for the RESPOND healthcare workers randomised controlled trial

Mediavilla, Roberto, Mcgreevy, Kerry R, Felez-nobrega, Mireia, Monistrol-mula, Anna, Bravo-ortiz, María-fe, Bayón, Carmen, Rodríguez-vega, Beatriz, Nicaise, Pablo, Delaire, Audrey, Sijbrandij, Marit, Witteveen, Anke B., Purgato, Marianna, Barbui, Corrado, Tedeschi, Federico, Melchior, Maria, Van Der Waerden, Judith, McDaid, David ORCID: 0000-0003-0744-2664, Park, A-La ORCID: 0000-0002-4704-4874, Kalisch, Raffael, Petri-romão, Papoula, Underhill, James, Bryant, Richard A., Haro, Josep Maria and Ayuso-mateos, José Luis (2022) Effectiveness of a stepped-care programme of internet-based psychological interventions for healthcare workers with psychological distress: study protocol for the RESPOND healthcare workers randomised controlled trial. Digital Health, 8. ISSN 2055-2076

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Abstract

Background and aims: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has challenged health services worldwide, with a worsening of healthcare workers’ mental health within initial pandemic hotspots. In early 2022, the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly around the world. This study explores the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a stepped-care programme of scalable, internet-based psychological interventions for distressed health workers on self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms. Methods: We present the study protocol for a multicentre (two sites), parallel-group (1:1 allocation ratio), analyst-blinded, superiority, randomised controlled trial. Healthcare workers with psychological distress will be allocated either to care as usual only or to care as usual plus a stepped-care programme that includes two scalable psychological interventions developed by the World Health Organization: A guided self-help stress management guide (Doing What Matters in Times of Stress) and a five-session cognitive behavioural intervention (Problem Management Plus). All participants will receive a single-session emotional support intervention, namely psychological first aid. We will include 212 participants. An intention-to-treat analysis using linear mixed models will be conducted to explore the programme's effect on anxiety and depression symptoms, as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire – Anxiety and Depression Scale summary score at 21 weeks from baseline. Secondary outcomes include post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, resilience, quality of life, cost impact and cost-effectiveness. Conclusions: This study is the first randomised trial that combines two World Health Organization psychological interventions tailored for health workers into one stepped-care programme. Results will inform occupational and mental health prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies. Registration details: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04980326.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://journals.sagepub.com/home/DHJ
Additional Information:	© 2022 The Authors
Divisions:	Care Policy and Evaluation Centre
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine H Social Sciences B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Date Deposited:	06 Oct 2022 16:03
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 03:19
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/116926

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