Skip to content

Effectiveness of Internet-based Self-help Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Reducing Insomnia Among Adult Population

Effectiveness of Internet-based Self-help Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT-I) in Reducing Insomnia Symptoms Among the Adult Population: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05551806
Enrollment
210
Registered
2022-09-23
Start date
2022-07-01
Completion date
2023-12-31
Last updated
2024-02-28

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Insomnia

Keywords

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Brief summary

This experimental study aims to develop an internet-based self-help cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia that reduces insomnia symptoms and its associated adverse outcomes among people with sub-threshold insomnia symptoms. In particular, this study compares the efficacy of internet-delivered self-help CBT-I with the wait-list control group, in treating insomnia in a non-clinical population. The online CBT-I course will consist of an introductory module, followed by 6 weekly modules. Each module will consist of the main treatment component presented in written or video format, quiz, and homework. Materials will be presented in an interactive manner to facilitate engagement.

Detailed description

Although the Internet self-help CRT-I program have shown promising effect on dealing with insomnia symptoms, the effectiveness of internet self-help CBT-I in adults with sub-clinical insomnia symptoms in Hong Kong is under-studied. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare the efficacy of internet-delivered self-help CBT-I with the wait-list control group, in treating insomnia in a non-clinical population. We hypothesized that (1) participants who received CBT-I treatment would have improved insomnia symptoms after the intervention as compared with the wait-list controls; (2) participants from CBT-I would have better sleep hygiene, and less dysfunctional beliefs about sleep and pre-sleep arousal after the intervention as compared with the wait-list controls; (3) participants from CBT-I would have improved mental health, daytime functioning, quality of life, and general well-being after treatment, as compared with the wait-list controls. The online CBT-I course will consist of an introductory module, followed by 6 weekly modules, incorporating the key CBT-I components, including sleep hygiene education, stimulus control, sleep restriction, relaxation training, and cognitive therapy. Each module will consist of the main treatment component presented in written or video format, quiz, and homework. Materials will be presented in an interactive manner to facilitate engagement.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALInternet-based self-help cognitive behavioural therapy

The online CBT-I course will consist of an introductory module, followed by 6 weekly modules, incorporating the key CBT-I components, including sleep hygiene education, stimulus control, sleep restriction, relaxation training, and cognitive therapy.

Sponsors

Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service
CollaboratorOTHER
Education University of Hong Kong
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Hong Kong residents * Age ≥18 years * Insomnia Severity Index score \> 7 and \< 22 * Being able to read Chinese * Have a computer, tablet and/or smartphone device with Internet access * have a regular email address * Willing to give informed consent and comply with the trial protocol

Exclusion criteria

* Receiving psychological treatment at least once per month * Currently taking prescribed psychiatric drugs such as antidepressants, tranquilizers, and sleeping pills regularly * Carrying a diagnosis of psychosis or schizophrenia * Participating in any other academic studies or clinical trials related to insomnia * Having current suicidal plans or acts or having had suicidal plans or acts within the past 12 months * Shift workers

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change from Baseline Assessment in the Severity of Sleep Problem on the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) at Post-Intervention Assessment and Follow-up AssessmentBefore intervention, Immediately after intervention, and 4 weeks after interventionThe ISI assesses the change in a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (none/ very dissatisfied/ not at all noticeable, worried & interfering) to 5 (very severe/ very satisfied/ very much noticeable, worried & interfering).

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change from Baseline Assessment in Daily Sleep-Wake Schedule on the 7-Day Consensus Sleep Diary at Post-Intervention Assessment and Follow-up AssessmentBefore intervention, Immediately after intervention, and 4 weeks after interventionThe 7-day consensus sleep diary will calculate the change of participants' sleep parameters from the diary data.
Change from Baseline Assessment in Cognitive and Somatic Manifestations of Arousal on the Pre-sleep Arousal Scale (PSAS) at Post-Intervention Assessment and Follow-up AssessmentBefore intervention, Immediately after intervention, and 4 weeks after interventionThe PSAS assesses the change in a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely).
Change from Baseline Assessment in Sleep Habits on the Sleep Hygiene Practice Scale (SHPS) at Post-Intervention Assessment and Follow-up AssessmentBefore intervention, Immediately after intervention, and 4 weeks after interventionThe SHPS assesses the change in a 6-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 6 (always).
Change from Baseline Assessment in Sleep Related Cognition on the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep (DBAS) at Post-Intervention Assessment and Follow-up AssessmentBefore intervention, Immediately after intervention, and 4 weeks after interventionThe DBAS assesses the change in a 10-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (strongly disagree) to 10 (strongly agree).
Change from Baseline Assessment in Psychological Wellbeing on the World Health Organisation-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) at Post-Intervention Assessment and Follow-up AssessmentBefore intervention, Immediately after intervention, and 4 weeks after interventionThe WHO-5 assesses the change in a 6-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 6 (all of the time).
Change from Baseline Assessment in Psychological Distress on the Short Form of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21) at Post-Intervention Assessment and Follow-up AssessmentBefore intervention, Immediately after intervention, and 4 weeks after interventionThe DASS-21 assesses the change in a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (did not apply to me at all) to 3 (applied to me very much, or most of the time).
Change from Baseline Assessment in Quality of Life on the Twelve-Item Short-Form (SF-12) Health Survey at Post-Intervention Assessment and Follow-up AssessmentBefore intervention, Immediately after intervention, and 4 weeks after interventionThe SF-12 assesses the change in a combination of 5-point and 3-point Likert scale, ranging respectively from 1 (poor/ never) to 5 (excellent/ very much), and 1 (never) to 3 (very much).
Change from Baseline Assessment in General Sleep Disturbances on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) at Post-Intervention Assessment and Follow-up AssessmentBefore intervention, Immediately after intervention, and 4 weeks after interventionThe PSQI assesses the change in a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not during the past month/ very good) to 4 (three or more times a week/ very poor).
Change from Baseline Assessment in Cognitive Failure on the Measure of Insight into Cognition-Self Report (MIC-SR) at Post-Intervention Assessment and Follow-up AssessmentBefore intervention, Immediately after intervention, and 4 weeks after interventionThe MIC-SR assesses the change in a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 4 (almost daily).
Change from Baseline Assessment in Expectation toward Intervention on the Credibility of Treatment Rating Scale (CTRS) at Post-Intervention Assessment and Follow-up AssessmentBefore intervention, Immediately after intervention, and 4 weeks after interventionThe CTRS assesses the change in a 6-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not at all confident) to 6 (very confident).
Insomnia Treatment Acceptability assessed the Insomnia Treatment Acceptability Scale (ITAS) at the Interview after Post-Intervention AssessmentImmediately after Post-Intervention AssessmentThe ITAS assesses the insomnia treatment acceptability in a 10-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not at all acceptable) to 10 (very acceptable).
Treatment Adherence at the Interview after Post-Intervention AssessmentImmediately after Post-Intervention AssessmentParticipants report the number of sessions they had read, how long they had spent on the CBT program, and how far they had followed the instructions.
Treatment Satisfaction at the Interview after Post-Intervention AssessmentImmediately after Post-Intervention AssessmentParticipants report on whether they like, found it useful, and improvement of the intervention in a 10-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (not at all suitable) to 10 (very suitable).
Treatment Satisfaction in internet (Acceptability of the Internet for delivering CBT) at the Interview after Post-Intervention AssessmentImmediately after Post-Intervention AssessmentParticipants report on how suitable, how convenient, how much they liked, and how worried they were about their privacy in a 10-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (not at all suitable) to 10 (very suitable).
Change from Baseline Assessment in Functional Impairment of Insomnia on the Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS) at Post-Intervention Assessment and Follow-up AssessmentBefore intervention, Immediately after intervention, and 4 weeks after interventionThe WSAS assesses the change in a 9-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not at all) to 9 (very severely).

Countries

Hong Kong

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026