Brief Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Fibromyalgia: Feasibility and Effectiveness of a Replicated Single-Case Design
Objective. Overall, the literature on the effectiveness of psychological treatments in general and those for fibromyalgia in particular has been dominated by research designs that focus on large groups and explore changes on average, so the treatment impact at the individual level remains unclear. In this quasi-experimental, replicated single-case design, we will test the feasibility and effectiveness of a brief acceptance and committed therapy intervention using ecological momentary assessment supported by technology. Methods. ,e sample comprised 7 patients (3 in the individual condition and 4 in the group condition) who received a brief, 5-week psychological treatment. Patient evolution w…
Predicting response to transdiagnostic iCBT for emotional disorders from patient and therapist involvement
Background Transdiagnostic iCBT has been shown to be effective for the treatment of emotional disorders. Less is known about the optimal level of therapist and patient involvement in these interventions. Specific characteristics of Internet-delivered interventions include treatment adherence (e.g., amount of review of the materials) and guidance (e.g., amount of therapist support). Exploring the importance of these elements in treatment outcome may help to maximize the efficiency of Internet-delivered psychological interventions. Aim In this study, we aimed to analyze the relationship between patient and therapist involvement (i.e., platform usage and amount of therapist guidance) in a samp…
Ecological momentary intervention to enhance emotion regulation in healthcare workers via smartphone: a randomized controlled trial protocol
Abstract Background CUIDA-TE is an APP that offers transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral therapy focused on enhancing emotion regulation. As a novelty, it incorporates ecological momentary interventions (EMI), which can provide psychological support in real time, when suffering arises. The main goal of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of CUIDA-TE to improve emotion regulation in healthcare workers, a population that has been particularly emotionally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods In this three-arm, randomized controlled trial (RCT) the study sample will be composed of a minimum of 174 healthcare workers. They will be randomly assigned to a 2-month EMI group (CUIDA-TE APP, n …
Additional file 1 of Ecological momentary intervention to enhance emotion regulation in healthcare workers via smartphone: a randomized controlled trial protocol
Additional file 1.
Characterizing Breakthrough Cancer Pain Using Ecological Momentary Assessment with a Smartphone App: Feasibility and Clinical Findings.
Background: mobile applications (apps) facilitate cancer pain ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and provide more reliable data than retrospective monitoring. The aims of this study are (a) to describe the status of persons with cancer pain when assessed ecologically, (b) to analyze the utility of clinical alarms integrated into the app, and (c) to test the feasibility of implementing an app for daily oncological pain monitoring. Methods: in this feasibility study, 21 patients (mean age = 56.95 years, SD = 10.53, 81.0% men) responded to an app-based evaluation of physical status (baseline and breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP)) and mental health variables (fatigue, mood, and coping) daily d…
Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and In Vivo Exposure Therapy: A Preliminary Comparison of Treatment Efficacy in Small Animal Phobia
This study aggregated data from three randomized control trials to explore the differential efficacy of three forms of exposure therapy, namely, in vivo (iVET), virtual reality (VRET), and augmented reality (ARET), in the treatment of small animal phobia. Additionally, baseline patient characteristics were used to detect subgroups of patients who showed a differential response to certain treatment modalities. Primary measures were distance covered, anxiety during the behavioral avoidance test (BAT), and overall fear of small animals. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to explore the overall treatment effect across the exposure modalities. A cluster analysis and an analysis of…
Designing ICTs for Users with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Usability Study
Background: Research has supported the cost-effectiveness of cognitive training tools enhanced by information and communication technologies (ICT) in several populations, including individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and age-related cognitive decline. The implementation of ICTs in this population, however, is sometimes challenging to their cognitive and age characteristics. Ultimately, this might compromise the effectiveness of ICT-enhanced therapies in this population. The aim of this study is to test the usability and acceptability of a European project prototype for elderly care, in an attempt to explore the ICT design needs of users with MCI. Methods: Participants were 28 i…
Using Artificial Intelligence to Enhance Ongoing Psychological Interventions for Emotional Problems in Real- or Close to Real-Time: A Systematic Review
Emotional disorders are the most common mental disorders globally. Psychological treatments have been found to be useful for a significant number of cases, but up to 40% of patients do not respond to psychotherapy as expected. Artificial intelligence (AI) methods might enhance psychotherapy by providing therapists and patients with real- or close to real-time recommendations according to the patient’s response to treatment. The goal of this investigation is to systematically review the evidence on the use of AI-based methods to enhance outcomes in psychological interventions in real-time or close to real-time. The search included studies indexed in the electronic databases Scopus, Pubmed, W…
Telemonitoring in chronic pain management using smartphone apps: a randomized controlled trial comparing usual assessment against app-based monitoring with and without clinical alarms
Background. The usefulness of mHealth in helping to target face-to-face interventions for chronic pain more effectively remains unclear. In the present study, we aim to test whether the Pain Monitor mobile phone application (app) is well accepted by clinicians, and can help improve existent medical treatments for patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Regarding this last goal, we compared three treatment conditions, namely usual treatment, usual treatment with an app without alarms and usual treatment with an app with alarms. All treatments lasted one month. The three treatments were compared for all outcomes, i.e., pain severity and interference, fatigue, depressed mood, anxiety and a…
mHealth for the Monitoring of Brace Compliance and Wellbeing in Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis: Study Protocol for a Feasibility Study
Escoliosis idiopática del adolescente; Aplicación móvil; Eficacia del tratamiento Escoliosi idiopàtica de l'adolescent; Aplicació mòbil; Eficàcia del tractament Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis; Mobile application; Treatment effectiveness Attempts to optimize monitoring of brace adherence prescribed to adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis (IS) have generally relied on sensors. Sensors, however, are intrusive and do not allow the assessment of psychological and physical consequences of brace use that might underlie poor adherence. Mobile applications have emerged as alternatives to monitor brace compliance. However, the feasibility and utility of these app-based systems to assess key psychol…
Behavioral Activation through Virtual Reality for Depression: A Single Case Experimental Design with Multiple Baselines
Behavioral activation (BA) is a structured psychotherapeutic approach for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), which aims at increasing the engagement in activities that might bring enjoyment and meaning to patients’ lives. Although a growing body of evidence supports the effectiveness of BA, enhancing the motivation and activity level of depressed patients is often challenging. In the present study, we explored the effectiveness of a brief BA treatment supported by virtual reality (VR) to facilitate the visualization and anticipation of four pleasurable activities that we tried to re-introduce in the patients’ daily routine. To do so, we conducted a single-case experimental de…
An Internet-delivered Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (iCBT) for Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) in adults: A multiple-baseline single-case experimental design study.
The death of a loved one has physical, psychological, and social consequences. Between 9.8 and 21.5 % of people who lose a loved one develop Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD). Internet- and computer-based interventions (i.e., Internet-delivered Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, iCBT) are cost-effective and scalable alternatives that make it possible to reach more people with PGD. The main goal of the present investigation was to examine the effect and feasibility (usability and satisfaction) of an iCBT (GROw program) for adults with PGD. A secondary objective was to detect adherence to the app (Emotional Monitor) used to measure daily grief symptoms. The study had a singlecase multiple-baseline AB…
Study on the Acceptability of an ICT Platform for Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment
EhcoBUTLER is an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solution funded by the European Union (H2020; ID: 643566) and intended especially for elderly people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to improve their health, independence and quality of life, particularly at the social level. The purpose of this study is to assess the acceptability of ehcoBUTLER based on a survey delivered to potential users and actors involved in their care, exploring their expectations and preferences, while anticipating the system’s functional requirements. The survey was delivered online to 313 participants (11% end users, 25% informal caregivers, 48% formal caregivers and 16% administration/management…