Abstract
BackgroundAccidents and the resulting injuries are among the world’s biggest health care issues, often causing long-term effects on psychological and physical health. With regard to psychological consequences, accidents can cause a wide range of burdens including adjustment problems. Although adjustment problems are among the most frequent mental health problems, there are few specific interventions available. The newly developed program SelFIT (German acronym: Selber wieder fit nach einem Unfall; “fit again after an accident”) aims to remedy this situation by offering a low-threshold, web-based self-help intervention for psychological distress after an accident.ObjectiveThe overall aim is to evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the SelFIT program plus care as usual (CAU) compared to only CAU. Furthermore, the program’s user-friendliness, acceptance, and adherence are assessed. We expect that the use of SelFIT will be associated with a greater reduction in psychological distress, greater improvement in mental and physical well-being, and greater cost-effectiveness compared to CAU.MethodsAdults (n=240) experiencing adjustment problems due to an accident they had between 2 weeks and 2 years before entering the study will be randomized into either the intervention or control group. Participants in the intervention group receive direct access to SelFIT. The control group receives access to the program after 12 weeks. There are 6 measurement points for both groups (baseline as well as after 4, 8, 12, 24, and 36 weeks). The main outcome is a reduction in anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms that indicate adjustment problems. Secondary outcomes include well-being, optimism, embitterment, self-esteem, self-efficacy, emotion regulation, pain, costs of health care consumption, and productivity loss, as well as the program’s adherence, acceptance, and user-friendliness.ResultsRecruitment began in December 2019 and will continue at least until January 2021, with the option to extend this for another 6 months until July 2021. As of July 2020, 324 people have shown interest in participating, and 48 people have given their informed consent.ConclusionsTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first study examining a web-based self-help program designed to treat adjustment problems resulting from an accident. If effective, the program could complement the still limited offerings for secondary and tertiary prevention of psychological distress after an accident.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03785912; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03785912International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/21200
Highlights
BackgroundThe World Health Organization reports tens of millions of accidents annually, with about 5 million people dying from the consequences of their injuries [1,2]
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study examining a web-based self-help program designed to treat adjustment problems resulting from an accident
The guidance on demand group did not show superior effects to the control group [20]. These findings suggest that the guidance on demand approach lies between guided and unguided programs in terms of http://www.researchprotocols.org/2020/12/e21200/
Summary
BackgroundThe World Health Organization reports tens of millions of accidents annually, with about 5 million people dying from the consequences of their injuries [1,2]. We have developed SelFIT (German acronym: Selber wieder fit nach einem Unfall; “fit again after an accident”), a low-threshold, web-based psychological self-help program for people who experience psychological distress after an accident. This program will be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Accidents and the resulting injuries are among the world’s biggest health care issues, often causing long-term effects on psychological and physical health. The newly developed program SelFIT (German acronym: Selber wieder fit nach einem Unfall; “fit again after an accident”) aims to remedy this situation by offering a low-threshold, web-based self-help intervention for psychological distress after an accident
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