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Treating Anxiety After Stroke (TASK)

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Anxiety Disorders
Stroke
Transient Ischemic Attack
Interventions
Behavioral: TASK-CBT
Behavioral: TASK-Relax
Registration Number
NCT03439813
Lead Sponsor
University of Edinburgh
Brief Summary

The TASK (Treating Anxiety after StroKe) trial is a feasibility randomized controlled trial. It aims to evaluate the feasibility of i) web-enabled trial procedures, and ii) the TASK intervention in stroke and TIA patients

Detailed Description

Anxiety after stroke and transient ischaemic attack (TIA) is common. It is distressing and potentially debilitating. Currently, post-stoke psychological care is inadequate. There is no definitive evidence to guide treatment of anxiety post-stroke.

The TASK intervention is a centralized model for delivering personalised therapy for treating anxiety post-stroke using telephone and web-technology.

The TASK intervention includes:

* Treatment website and telephone support

* Learning ways to overcome anxiety after stroke/'mini-stroke'

* Relaxation techniques

* Weekly online tasks

* Therapeutic videos

* Text reminders and participant record card

* Useful links to stroke resources and websites

The investigators designed the TASK trial to be web-enabled, so that it can be conducted entirely remotely.

In the TASK feasibility randomized controlled trial, the investigators aim to evaluate the feasibility of:

i) web-enabled trial procedures: online recruitment, remote eligibility checking, electronic informed consent, online self-reported outcome surveys

ii) feasibility of the TASK intervention in stroke and TIA patients

This trial received a favourable opinion from the South East Scotland Research Ethics Committee (ref: 17/SS/0143)

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
27
Inclusion Criteria
  1. Aged 18 or above

  2. A diagnosis of stroke (ischaemic, primary haemorrhagic) or TIA-probable, definite, or ocular

  3. At least one month after being discharged to the community from clinic or hospital ward

  4. Has anxiety symptoms

    a. at least one anxiety symptom should be present on the 6-item anxiety screening questions derived from GAD-7 and modified Fear Questionnaire(ref).

  5. Have capacity to give informed consent

  6. Able to communicate in English on the telephone

  7. Can access the internet via a computer/ tablet/ smartphone

  8. Residents within NHS Lothian regions (EH postcodes and FK1)

Exclusion Criteria
  1. People already taking part in a clinical trial of treatment intended to improve psychosocial outcomes e.g. emotional distress, anxiety, depression, emotionalism, fatigue, social functioning, quality of life are excluded.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
TASK-CBTTASK-CBTWeb and telephone-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy designed for anxiety after stroke and TIA. Six personalized telephone CBT sessions, one week apart by a trained and supervised medical professional using the TASK Therapist's Manual. Treatment website contains multimedia content to cover key CBT skills with weekly online tasks.
TASK-RelaxTASK-RelaxWeb and telephone-supported relaxation therapy. Treatment website contains five relaxation exercises: i) audio- and visually-guided breathing exercise, ii) relaxing imagery and sounds, iii) music for relaxation, iv) audio-guided progressive muscle relaxation, and v) a selection of sounds of nature. Telephone instruction given and treatment website contains multimedia content to explain to participant how to practice relaxation regularly during the trial period.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Feasibility of web-enabled self-recruitmentAt 20 weeks

Number of participants recruited per month

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Feasibility of online self-completed surveys at data collection time pointsAt 6 and 20 weeks

% completed follow up surveys

Unwanted effects arising from any of the TASK treatmentsAt 20 weeks

% participants reported unwanted effects from allocated intervention

Feasibility of assessing intervention fidelityAt 20 weeks

% of Therapist's record of content(s) delivered

Feasibility of electronic informed consent formAt 20 weeks

% of participants completed electronic informed consent

Feasibility of remote eligibility confirmation via electronic health recordsAt 20 weeks

Time taken to confirm eligibility (in days): date of randomization - date of data request made

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Edinburgh

🇬🇧

Edinburgh, Midlothian, United Kingdom

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