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Effectiveness of Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Frontline Health Care Workers (The HCW-CBTi Study)

Insomnia | Anxiety Disorders | Depression | Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased workload and concerns about personal and family safety for frontline healthcare workers (HCWs), which can lead to decreased well-being and worsening mental health. Sleep disruption is particularly prevalent among HCWs providing frontline COVID-19 care. It can have direct consequences on their cognitive and emotional functioning, as well as on patient safety. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia (CBTi) is a first-line treatment for insomnia. It has been shown to improve sleep health and wellbeing in the general population. However, there are significant barriers to delivering CBTi to frontline HCWs, including limited availability of trained sleep therapists and high costs. To address this, a Canada-wide randomized controlled trial is developed to determine the effectiveness of a digital CBTi program on the sleep health, mental health, wellness, and overall quality of life of frontline HCWs caring for COVID-19 patients. This study may provide an easily accessible and scalable sleep health intervention that can be included as part of a national and global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Participation Requirements

  • Sex:

    ALL

  • Eligible Ages:

    0 and up

Participation Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

* Health care workers with probable insomnia disorder, as indicated by a score of 16 or lower on the Sleep Condition Indicator (SCI),
* Self-identify as being involved in frontline management of patients;
* Access to a mobile phone or a computer with Internet access.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Participants requiring urgent CBT treatment as per their health care provider,
* Participants received CBT in the past 3 months
* Participants participating in other psychological treatments and/or drug trials during the study;
* Self-reported additional sleep related disorders: sleep apnea or restless legs syndrome;
* Significant other significant medical or psychiatric conditions e.g. life threatening (e.g. cancer), neurological conditions (e.g. epilepsy); severe depression , active suicide intent.

Study Location

Toronto Western Hospital - UHN
Toronto Western Hospital - UHN
Toronto, Ontario
Canada

Contact Study Team

Primary Contact

Mandeep Singh, MBBS, FRCPC

[email protected]
416-603-5118
Backup Contact

Abdel Basit Al Hawwari

[email protected]
4166035800
Toronto Western Hospital
Toronto Western Hospital
Toronto, Ontario
Canada

Contact Study Team

Study Sponsored By
University Health Network, Toronto
Participants Required
More Information
Study ID: NCT05816304