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Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Mental Health

Date Submitted: Jul 4, 2018
Open Peer Review Period: Jul 8, 2018 - Aug 7, 2018
Date Accepted: Oct 27, 2018
(closed for review but you can still tweet)

The final, peer-reviewed published version of this preprint can be found here:

Supported Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Programs for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in University Students: Open, Non-Randomised Trial of Acceptability, Effectiveness, and Satisfaction

Palacios JE, Richards D, Palmer R, Coudray C, Hofmann SG, Palmieri PA, Frazier P

Supported Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Programs for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in University Students: Open, Non-Randomised Trial of Acceptability, Effectiveness, and Satisfaction

JMIR Ment Health 2018;5(4):e11467

DOI: 10.2196/11467

PMID: 30552076

PMCID: 6315236

Supported Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Programs for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in University Students: Open Feasibility Trial of Acceptability, Effectiveness, and Satisfaction

  • Jorge E Palacios; 
  • Derek Richards; 
  • Riley Palmer; 
  • Carissa Coudray; 
  • Stefan G Hofmann; 
  • Patrick A Palmieri; 
  • Patricia Frazier

ABSTRACT

Background:

Many university campuses have limited mental health services that cannot cope with the high demand. One alternative is to use internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) as a way of tackling barriers such as lack of availability and scheduling issues.

Objective:

This study aimed to assess feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness, and satisfaction of a supported iCBT intervention offering 3 programs on depression, anxiety, and stress to university students. The design was an open or nonrandomized feasibility trial.

Methods:

Participants were recruited from 3 counseling centers at a large midwestern University in the United States. Those agreeing to take part chose 1 of 3 iCBT programs—Space from Depression, Anxiety, or Stress—all comprised 8 modules of media-rich interactive content. Participants were supported throughout the trial by a trained professional. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD-7), and stress subscale of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) were completed at baseline, 8 weeks, and 3-month follow-up. A Satisfaction With Treatment (SAT) questionnaire was completed at 8 weeks, and qualitative interviews were completed by a subsample of participants at 3 months.

Results:

A total of 102 participants were recruited, with 52 choosing Space from Anxiety, 31 choosing Space from Depression, and 19 choosing Space from Stress. Mixed-effects models showed a significant decrease in symptoms of depression (F4=6.36, P<.001), anxiety (F4=7.97, P<.001), and stress (F4=8.50, P<.001) over time across all 3 programs. The largest decreases in PHQ-9 scores at 8 weeks were among participants who chose the Space from Depression program (d=0.84); at 3 months, the largest decreases in PHQ-scores were among those who chose the Space from Stress program (d=0.74). The largest decreases in GAD-7 scores were among those who chose the Space from Anxiety program (d=0.74 at 8 weeks and d=0.94 at 3 months). The largest decrease in DASS-21 stress subscale scores was among those who chose the Space from Stress program (d=0.49 at 8 weeks and d=1.16 at 3 months). The mean time spent using the platform per session was 27.4 min (SD 33.8), and participants completed 53% (SD 37.6) of the total program content on average. Most (37/53, 69%) participants found the programs helpful or very helpful and liked the convenience and flexibility of the intervention. Qualitative interviews (n=14) indicated the intervention met students’ expectations, and they saw it as a valuable complement to face-to-face treatment.

Conclusions:

The iCBT programs tested in our study appear to be feasible, acceptable, and effective in a university environment. Participants described the benefits of having a flexible, supported Web-based intervention available on campus. Larger trials should be conducted to further test the effectiveness of supported Web-based interventions that give students a choice of program depending on their symptom profile. Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02614443; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00102401


 Citation

Please cite as:

Palacios JE, Richards D, Palmer R, Coudray C, Hofmann SG, Palmieri PA, Frazier P

Supported Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Programs for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in University Students: Open, Non-Randomised Trial of Acceptability, Effectiveness, and Satisfaction

JMIR Ment Health 2018;5(4):e11467

DOI: 10.2196/11467

PMID: 30552076

PMCID: 6315236

Per the author's request the PDF is not available.

© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.