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Do Mind Ease Interventions Reduce Feelings of Acute Anxiety? A Randomised Controlled Trial

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Anxiety
Interventions
Other: intervention with this name in MindEase app
Other: reading about anxiety
Registration Number
NCT05850975
Lead Sponsor
University of Oxford
Brief Summary

This study investigates the short-term effects of the MindEase app on anxiety levels.

Detailed Description

Anxiety is a common symptom in the world's population (Whiteford et al., 2013). It occurs as a symptom within other mental disorders and as a disorder in itself (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

There are several ways of dealing with anxiety, from short guidance for coping on a symptom level to professional health. (Emmelkamp \& Ehring, 2014). Many people suffering from anxiety below a threshold indicating need for professional therapy may profit from strategies to calm down. (Helmchen \& Linden, 2000). Among the strategies that are effective, there are guided interventions that people can use via a web-based interface on a computer or smartphone (Taylor et al., 2021). While it is known for most interventions that they are helpful, it is often unclear if they work also in web-based environments (Baumel et al., 2020). This is because most research regarding the topic investigates the effectiveness of mental-health apps as a whole, while research of specific interventions is missing (Domhardt et al., 2019). However, to develop effective apps, it is crucial to identify which specific interventions are most efficient in a web-based setting. (Domhardt et al., 2019; Firth et al., 2017). Therefore we want to identify interventions working effectively in an online format.

Mind Ease is an app that offers different established interventions within one framework to their users when they feel anxious. This framework makes the different interventions comparable to each other. For this reason, we will test the interventions that are used in the Mind Ease-app.

In a first study we will correlate the Mind Ease 3-sliders-score with the state-trait- anxiety-Inventory (SAI). In a second study we will measure participants'; acute anxiety (with the 3-sliders- score) before and after they performed a 10 minutes web-based cognitive or mindfulness-associated intervention. We will compare the anticipated reduction in anxiety to the reduction measured in participants in a control group.

Prospectively registered here: https://osf.io/36ukh

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
6200
Inclusion Criteria
  • anxiety score is above cut-off
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Exclusion Criteria
Read More

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
gratitude practiceintervention with this name in MindEase app-
deep breathingintervention with this name in MindEase app-
muscle relaxationintervention with this name in MindEase app-
reading about anxietyreading about anxiety-
guided mindfulnessintervention with this name in MindEase app-
cognitive therapyintervention with this name in MindEase app-
in flow with fearintervention with this name in MindEase app-
dare responseintervention with this name in MindEase app-
defusionintervention with this name in MindEase app-
mindful breathingintervention with this name in MindEase app-
reframe your fearsintervention with this name in MindEase app-
reflective writingintervention with this name in MindEase app-
calming visualizationintervention with this name in MindEase app-
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
change in anxiety scoreimmediately before and immediately after the intervention

sum of three slider questions on emotional state (3-sliders-score)

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Oxford

🇬🇧

Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

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