Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Nov 17, 2022
Date Accepted: May 4, 2023
mHealth Early Intervention to Reduce PTSD and Alcohol Use After Sexual Assault (THRIVE): Feasibility and Acceptability Results from a Pilot Trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Sexual assault is associated with increased risk for both posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol misuse. mHealth interventions have shown promise in addressing PTSD and substance use in trauma survivors and might be a promising strategy in extending the reach of early interventions to recently-traumatized individuals.
Objective:
The current study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of THRIVE, an mHealth early intervention for recent survivors of sexual assault involving a cognitive-behavioral app used daily over 21 days with weekly phone coaching.
Methods:
Twenty survivors of past-10-week sexual assault with elevated PTSD symptoms and alcohol use were randomized to receive the THRIVE intervention as part of a pilot randomized controlled trial. Participants completed self-report assessments of knowledge at baseline and post-intervention, and satisfaction and usability were assessed in a follow-up survey. The coach took notes during coaching calls to track call content and record feedback.
Results:
Participants completed cognitive-behavioral exercises on 49.8% of days, and 80.0% of participants attended all 4 coaching calls. Significant knowledge changes from pre to post indicated that the intervention was successful in conveying key concepts. Participants generally reported high satisfaction and usability in both quantitative and qualitative data. Qualitative analysis of coaching call notes indicated that participants found the app to be highly beneficial to their recovery.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that THRIVE is feasible and acceptable to participants and suggest that further testing of THRIVE is warranted. Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT03703258
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.