iCBT and ABM for Reducing Depressive Symptoms in Firefighters

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Depression
• Interventions: Behavioral: Internet-delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification

• Registration Number: NCT05741684
• Lead Sponsor: Adai Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd.

Brief Summary

The study aimed to examine the impact of a combined internet-delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iCBT) and Attention Bias Modification (ABM) intervention to reduce depressive symptoms in firefighters. The study was a randomized controlled trial carried out in Kunming, China, and involved the recruitment of 138 active firefighters as participants. The intervention lasted for an 8-week duration, during which participants participated in ABM exercises on alternating days and concurrently underwent four modules of iCBT courses delivered through a smartphone application.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2022-04-01
• Primary Completion: 2022-06-30
• Study Completion: 2022-12-01
• Status Verified: 2023-02
• Study First Submitted: 2023-02-12
• Study First Submitted QC: 2023-02-21
• Last Update Submitted: 2023-02-21
• Study First Posted: 2023-02-23
• Last Update Posted: 2023-02-23

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 138

Inclusion Criteria

• being an active firefighter and aged between 18 and 50
• having a score greater than zero on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
• with no history of severe depression

Exclusion Criteria

• having suicidal ideation or intent
• having an active psychotic disorder other than depression
• prior participation in a cognitive-behavioral intervention
• concurrent participation in another study.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
iCBT and ABM	Internet-delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy	A combined internet-delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iCBT) and Attention Bias Modification (ABM) intervention to reduce depressive symptoms in firefighters.
iCBT and ABM	Attention Bias Modification	A combined internet-delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iCBT) and Attention Bias Modification (ABM) intervention to reduce depressive symptoms in firefighters.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Attention Bias Variability	Immediately Post-intervention	To quantify attention-bias variability (ABV), the experimental data were divided into 8 segments, and attention-bias scores were computed for each segment. Subsequently, the standard deviation of attention-bias scores across segments was determined, and this value was divided by all trials ABS to account for ABS variability.
Attention Bias Score	Immediately Post-intervention	To quantify attention bias, response times (RTs) were analyzed in accordance with the established procedure to calculate the attention bias score (ABS). Trials characterized by inaccurate responses or RTs of exceptional brevity (\<150ms) or prolonged duration (\>1200ms) were disregarded. The computation of attention bias entailed determining the discrepancy between the mean RT in response to relatively positive stimuli and the mean RT in response to relatively negative stimuli. A preference for happy faces was indicated by an average RT for happy facial expressions that were shorter than the average RT for neutral or sad facial expressions.
Patient Health Questionnaire-9	Immediately Post-intervention	The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was utilized to assess symptoms of depression. The PHQ-9 is a self-report questionnaire comprising 9 items, with a score range of 0-27, measuring depression-related symptoms experienced in the past two weeks

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Kunming Training Corps of the National Fire and Rescue Administration; 🇨🇳 Kunming, Yunnan, China