Introduction: The mental health burden for the general population due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been highlighted. Evidence on effective, easily accessible public health interventions to reduce worry, a major transdiagnostic risk-factor for, e.g., anxiety and depression, is scarce. Objective: In a pragmatic randomized controlled trial, we aimed to assess whether an internet cognitive-behavioral self-help intervention could reduce worry more than public mental health advice in the general population. Methods: Eligible internet users above the age of 18 were recruited from the German general population and randomly assigned, to either get.calm-move.on (GCMO), a 10-day unguided, internet-based self-help intervention, or mental health advice waiting group (MHA-W, receiving officially endorsed mental health recommendations). The primary outcome was level of worry, using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), 2 weeks after randomization. Baseline assessment and 2-month and 6-month follow-ups were conducted. The trial was registered at the German Clinical Trials Registry (DRKS00021153). Results: Between April 7, 2020 and December 11, 2020, we randomly assigned 351 individuals to receive either GCMO (n = 175) or MHA-W (n = 176). Participants receiving GCMO (PSWQ = 46.6; change –10.3) reported significantly less worrying at post-intervention (F_1,219 = 12.9; p #x3c; 0.001; d = 0.38) than MHA-W controls (PSWQ = 51.6; change –5.1). Improvements were also seen on most secondary outcomes, including symptoms of anxiety and depression, general well-being, resiliency, and emotion regulation skills. Improvements made from baseline were stable until the 6-month follow-up. Conclusions: This internet-based self-help intervention providing cognitive-behavioral techniques to cope with the threatening pandemic situation is effective in reducing worry in the general population and should complement existing and potentially effective mental health recommendations.
Psychother Psychosom

中文翻译：

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基于互联网的自助干预与公共心理健康建议在 COVID-19 大流行期间减少忧虑的有效性：一项实用的平行组随机对照试验

简介：突出了 COVID-19 大流行给普通人群造成的心理健康负担。关于有效、易于获得的公共卫生干预措施以减少忧虑的证据很少，忧虑是焦虑和抑郁等的主要跨诊断风险因素。目的：在一项实用的随机对照试验中，我们旨在评估互联网认知行为自助干预是否比一般人群的公共心理健康建议更能减少忧虑。方法：从德国普通人群中招募符合条件的 18 岁以上互联网用户，并随机分配到 get.calm-move.on (GCMO)、为期 10 天的无指导、基于互联网的自助干预或心理健康建议等待组（MHA-W，接受官方认可的心理健康建议）。主要结果是忧虑程度，使用宾夕法尼亚州忧虑问卷 (PSWQ)，随机分组后 2 周。进行了基线评估以及 2 个月和 6 个月的随访。该试验已在德国临床试验注册中心 (DRKS00021153) 注册。结果： 2020 年 4 月 7 日至 2020 年 12 月 11 日期间，我们随机分配 351 人接受 GCMO（n = 175）或 MHA-W（n= 176). 接受 GCMO（PSWQ = 46.6；变化 –10.3）的参与者在干预后报告的担忧程度明显低于 MHA-W 对照组（PSWQ = 51.6；变化 –5.1）（F _1,219 = 12.9；p #x3c；0.001；d = 0.38） . 大多数次要结果也有所改善，包括焦虑和抑郁症状、总体幸福感、弹性和情绪调节技能。在 6 个月的随访之前，相对于基线的改进是稳定的。结论：这种基于互联网的自助干预提供认知行为技术来应对威胁性的大流行情况，可有效减少普通人群的担忧，并应补充现有的和可能有效的心理健康建议。
心理医生