Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jul 21, 2020
Date Accepted: Oct 25, 2020
Efficacy of a transdiagnostic self-help internet intervention for reducing depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation in adults: a randomised controlled trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Low-intensity self-guided mental health interventions that are delivered online may meet the needs and preferences of adults with mild to moderate symptoms. However, there are few clinical trials examining the effectiveness of self-guided transdiagnostic interventions within a naturalistic setting.
Objective:
This randomised controlled trial (RCT) tested the effectiveness of the video-based transdiagnostic intervention FitMindKit in reducing depression symptoms (primary outcome), anxiety symptoms, disability and suicidal ideation, relative to an attention-matched control condition called HealthWatch.
Methods:
The RCT was conducted with adults living in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Participants (n=1,986) were recruited online using social media advertisements, screened for psychological distress, and then randomised to receive one of two 4-week programs: FitMindKit (12-module psychotherapy intervention) or HealthWatch (12-module program providing general health information). Participants were assessed at baseline and 4 weeks post-baseline. To maintain the ecological validity of the trial, participants completed brief assessments and the interventions without direct researcher contact or incentives.
Results:
Mixed model repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated that FitMindKit significantly improved depression symptoms (F1,701.7=3.97, p=.047), along with panic symptoms (F1,706.5=5.59, p=.018) and social anxiety symptoms (F1,680.0=12.37, p<.001) relative to the attention control condition. There were no significant effects on other outcomes.
Conclusions:
Self-guided transdiagnostic interventions can be beneficial when delivered directly to end-users through the internet. Despite low adherence and small effect sizes, the availability of such interventions is likely to fill a critical gap in the accessibility of mental health services for the community. Clinical Trial: This trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (number ACTRN12618001688270)
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© 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.