Internet-delivered Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Patients With Health Anxiety

Summary

Health anxiety is a prevalent, disabling disorder associated with extensive health care expenditures. The lack of easily accessible, evidence-based psychological treatment combined with delayed diagnostic recognition constitute barriers to receiving treatment.

Aim

1. To develop an internet-delivered treatment program, based on 'Acceptance and Commitment Therapy' (ACT), for patients with health anxiety.
2. To test the feasibility and effectiveness of the treatment programme in a randomized, controlled trial, comparing the treatment with an active control condition.

Methods 150 patients aged 18 years and older can self-refer through a web-page to apply for participation. Before inclusion patients will undergo a video-diagnostic interview. Patients are randomly assigned to 12 weeks of either, 1) active treatment: consisting of internet-based ACT (iACT) with 7 therapist-guided modules of self-help text, exercises, patient videos and audio-files, or 2) active control condition: consisting of an internet-based discussion forum (iFORUM) with 7 topics of discussion.

All patients will complete self-report questionnaires at baseline, before randomization, at 4 and 8 weeks into treatment, after end of treatment, and at 6-month follow-up.

Conditions

• Hypochondriasis

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Internet-based ACT

The guided internet program consists of 7 modules activated consecutively over a period of 12 weeks. The content is written psycho education, patient videos, audio-exercises and behavioural exposure exercises. The program is therapist-guided; hence all patients will receive support from primarily the same therapist during the 12 weeks.

OTHER

Internet-based discussion forum

The online discussion forum consists of 7 themes touching upon the impact of health anxiety and the patients own coping strategies. The themes are activated consecutively over a period of 12 weeks. The discussion forum is text-based, and only patients will participate in the discussion. The written discussions will be reviewed by a professional for ethical reasons. The discussion forum aims to control for the effect of attention and contacts to the health care system. After 9 months patients in the discussion forum are offered active treatment, but not as part of the research project.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Aarhus University Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• Karolinska Institutet

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Aarhus

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Lisbeth Frostholm, PhD · Aarhus University Hospital

• Charlotte U Rask, PhD · Aarhus University Hospital

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2016-04-30

Primary Completion

2017-04-30

Completion

2018-03-31