Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jul 6, 2021
Open Peer Review Period: Jul 6, 2021 - Aug 31, 2021
Date Accepted: Feb 2, 2022
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Acceptability and Feasibility of a Computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention for Depression among Veterans
ABSTRACT
Background:
Computerized cognitive behavioral therapies (cCBT) have been developed to deliver efficient, evidence-informed treatment for depression and other mental health conditions. One of the most empirically supported cCBTs for depression is Beating the Blues (BtB), which is often administered with the support of a care provider or peer. This increases the complexity and cost of the intervention.
Objective:
Researchers at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) aimed to test the acceptability and feasibility stand-alone cCBT for depression among US military Veterans.
Methods:
Among United States (US) military Veterans experiencing current mild to moderate depressive symptoms, a before-after trial was implemented to examine the acceptability of BtB delivered without additional peer or other mental health provider support. Feasibility of the study design for use in a future efficacy trial was also evaluated.
Results:
Forty-nine Veterans completed pre-intervention assessments and received access to BtB. Twenty-nine participants completed all post-intervention assessments. Thresholds for acceptability of the intervention were met. While pre-determined feasibility criterion regarding eligibility, use of BtB, and post-assessment completion were not met, results were comparable with other cCBT studies.
Conclusions:
This study is the first among US military Veterans to demonstrate support for implementation of a cCBT for depression without the assistance of a mental health professional or a peer support specialist; thereby suggesting that a stand-alone computer-aided intervention may be viable. Further research is warranted. Clinical Trial: N/A
Citation
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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.