None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression) and functional difficulties (e.g., cognitive problems) are highly comorbid in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, access to effective psychological treatments are limited. People with MS face many barriers (e.g., costs, limited trained clinicians, mobility issues) accessing effective psychological care. Moreover, limited resourcing has meant that specialist mental health and other supportive care has yet to be integrated into neurology settings as has occurred in other areas, such as cancer care. The purpose of this project is to assess the acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness of an established internet-delivered psychological treatment, the Wellbeing Neuro Course, in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety and disability in patients with Multiple Sclerosis attending the MS Clinic at the Royal North Shore Hospital (MSC-RNSH). The secondary aim is to gather information about the implementation of the Wellbeing Neuro Course into routine care at the MSC-RNSH. It is hypothesised that: (1) the program will be highly acceptable and that high levels of engagement will be observed; (2) the program will require relatively little clinician time to administer; and (3) preliminary evidence of improvements in disability, anxiety, and depression will be observed at post-treatment and maintained at 3-month follow-up in patients with MS.
Interventions
The interventions, the Wellbeing Neuro Course, is an internet-delivered psychological intervention developed at the eCentreClinic. It consists of: (a) 6 online lessons provided over 10 weeks. The Lessons will include information about identifying symptoms of poor wellbeing including mental health and cognitive difficulties, and teach practical skills for their self- management including; managing thoughts, low mood and anxiety, problem solving, memory and attention, and activity and fatigue levels. The intervention includes guidance and examples on how to adopt core psychological skills into one’s day-to-day life, including three comprehensive case stories of adults with neurological disorders (b) Optional worksheets for each lesson to aid the practice of core skills. Participants are strongly encouraged but not required to complete these worksheets throughout the course. (c) Optional additional written resources, which include information about other important skills, such as problem solving common cognitive difficulties, assertiveness and communication skills and techniques for managing sleep difficulties. Participants are encouraged but not required to read through these relevant written resources. (e) The option of brief contact with a psychologist via secure email or telephone throughout the course. Participants will be encouraged to complete a lesson every 10 days and complete some basic home based activities in the following 10 days. All lessons can be downloaded and printed. Participants are encouraged to complete the course with a support person if available (e.g., partner, carer). Participants will be contacted by a psychologist throughout the course to monitor their progress through the Course; Psychologists from the Multiple Sclerosis Clinic at the Royal North Shore Hospital will receive weekly supervision from a Senior Clinical Psychologist at eCentreClinic Psychologist in which participants are reviewed; as per best-practice guidelines. The Wellbeing Neuro Course is based on cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) principles and teaches evidence-based skills for managing the impacts of neurological disorders on day-to-day activities and overall mental health. Each lesson takes between 10 and 20 minutes to complete and it is suggested that participants read each lesson at least twice and spend approximately 4 hours, across the week, practicing the skills taught. Adherence (e.g., lesson completion, lesson views) will is monitored via the eCentreClinic software, which is used to provide the Wellbeing Neuro Course.
Sponsors
Dr Milena Gandy
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria include: (a) Patient at the Royal North Shore Hospital Multiple Sclerosis Clinic with a confirmed diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis; (b) experiencing difficulties with their emotional and/or cognitive health, (c) 18+ years of age, (d) living in Australia,
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria include (a) immediately suicidal or unable to keep themselves safe; (b) severe cognitive impairment (c) are unable to read and understand English (d) do not have access to the internet.
Outcome results
None listed