Abstract
BackgroundInternet based self-help for panic disorder (PD) has proven to be effective. However, studies so far have focussed on treating a full-blown disorder. Panic symptoms that do not meet DSM-IV criteria are more prevalent than the full-blown disorder and patients with sub-clinical panic symptoms are at risk of developing PD. This study is a randomised controlled trial aimed to evaluate an Internet based self-help intervention for sub-clinical and mild PD compared to a waiting list control group.MethodsParticipants with mild or sub-clinical PD (N = 128) will be recruited in the general population. Severity of panic and anxiety symptoms are the primary outcome measures. Secondary outcomes include depressive symptoms, quality of life, loss of production and health care consumption. Assessments will take place on the Internet at baseline and three months after baseline.DiscussionResults will indicate the effectiveness of Internet based self-help for sub-clinical and mild PD. Strengths of this design are the external validity and the fact that it is almost completely conducted online.Trial registrationNetherlands Trial Register (NTR): NTR1639 The Netherlands Trial Register is part of the Dutch Cochrane Centre.
Highlights
Internet based self-help for panic disorder (PD) has proven to be effective
While PD can be effectively treated by cognitive behavioural therapy and pharmacotherapy [8], it is known that only 25% of people with anxiety symptoms seeks help [9] and only 15% of people with panic symptoms receives effective treatment [10]
Sample size Power calculations are based on a moderate effect size of d=.50, comparing the Panic Disorder Severity Scale - Self Report (PDSS-SR) scores of the Intervention Don’t Panic Online (DPO) is an individual guided webbased self-help course, based on cognitive behavioural therapy
Summary
Design We will conduct a randomised controlled trial with two arms: (a) Internet based self-help with minimal guidance, (b) waiting list control group with information website. Sample size Power calculations are based on a moderate effect size of d=.50, comparing the PDSS-SR scores of the Intervention Don’t Panic Online (DPO) is an individual guided webbased self-help course, based on cognitive behavioural therapy. It was developed by the Trimbos Institute, which is the Netherlands Institute for Mental health and Addiction, in collaboration with GGNet, a Dutch mental health care institute. Quality of life Quality of life will be measured with the Dutch version of the EuroQol Questionnaire (EQ-5D) [31,32] This short list contains five dimensions: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. Estimated data from the LMM procedure will be used to analyse effect sizes
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