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Incorporating EMA and EMI Into CBT-I Using mHealth and Wearable Technologies

Incorporating Ecological Momentary Assessment and Intervention Into Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia Using mHealth and Wearable Technologies: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial

Status
UNKNOWN
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06004869
Enrollment
90
Registered
2023-08-22
Start date
2023-09-01
Completion date
2024-12-31
Last updated
2023-08-23

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

Conditions

Insomnia

Keywords

ecological momentary intervention

Brief summary

This study will be a randomised controlled trial to investigate an integrated platform that incorporates ecological momentary assessments/interventions (EMA/I) into cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) using mHealth and wearable technology. The intervention is a promising prospect to address current challenges in the context of sleep medicine to provide real-time and real-world intervention with accuracy, low cost, and easy accessibility.

Detailed description

It will be a randomised, assessor-blind controlled trial embedding both outcome and process evaluation, of the EMA/I CBT-I in conjunction with wearable sensors. The outcome evaluation will examine the treatment effect of EMA/I CBT-I compared with care-as-usual (CAU), whilst process evaluation will enhance the understanding of the causal assumptions that underpin EMA/I CBT-I to inform policy and clinical practice. 60 eligible participants will be randomly assigned to the EMA/I CBT-I group and CAU in a 1:1 allocation ratio. The participants in the EMA/I CBT-I group will receive 6 weeks of smartphone-based EMA/I CBT-I supported by a therapist. The trained therapist will prescribe EMI, provide personalised sleep advice, and adjust the treatment by dynamically adapting real-time rest-activity assessments collected using EMA and wearable devices. Assessments will be managed by an independent assessor (a research assistant) who is blind to group allocation at baseline, week 7 (1 week after treatment), and week 18 (12 weeks after treatment). The proposed study will follow the recommendations of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) and will be registered on ClinicalTrials.gov to ensure compliance with study design and results reporting requirements. The treatment will be provided free of charge.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALEcological momentary assessments/interventions with cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (EMA/I CBT-I)

an integrated system based on an existing multicomponent cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and EMA app

BEHAVIORALSelf-help cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia

An mobile app that delivers CBT-I content.

Sponsors

Chinese University of Hong Kong
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

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

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Hong Kong residents at least 18 years of age; 2. able to read Chinese and type in Chinese or English; 3. meet the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria of insomnia disorder (difficulty initiating and/or maintaining sleep or early morning awakening, alongside clinically significant daytime impairment) based on the Brief Insomnia Questionnaire (BIQ), a diagnostic tool validated by the team; 4. have an Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) score of at least 10 indicating clinical-level insomnia; 5. have adequate opportunity and circumstances for sleep to occur; 6. have an Internet-enabled mobile device (iOS or Android operating system), and 7. are willing to provide informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

To mimic real-world settings, a less stringent set of

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Changes in Insomnia Severity Index (ISI)Baseline, Immediate post-treatment, 12-week follow upISI is a 7-item scale designed to evaluate perceived insomnia severity. Ratings on the 5- point Likert scale are obtained on the perceived severity of sleep-onset, sleep-maintenance, early morning awakening problems, satisfaction with current sleep pattern, interference with daily functioning, noticeable impairment attributed to the sleep problem, and level of distress caused by the sleep problem.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Changes in 7-Day Consensus Sleep DiaryBaseline, Immediate post-treatment, 12-week follow upThe standardized sleep diary records sleep-onset latency (SOL; min), wake after sleep onset (WASO; min), total wake time (TWT; min), total sleep time (TST; min), time in bed (TIB; min), etc.
Changes in Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)Baseline, Immediate post-treatment, 12-week follow upA 14-item self-rating scale that measures anxiety and depression in both hospital and community settings. It is divided into an Anxiety subscale (HADS-A) and a Depression subscale (HADS-D) both containing seven intermingled items. It is for screening purposes and is not meant to be a diagnostic tool. HADS scores of 8-10, 11-14, and 15-21 represent mild, moderate, and severe anxiety and depression separately.
Changes in Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale (DBAS)Baseline, Immediate post-treatment, 12-week follow upThe DBAS is a 16-item questionnaire used to assess sleep-related cognitions.
Changes in the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)Baseline, Immediate post-treatment, 12-week follow upThe ESS is an 8-item scale designed to evaluate overall daytime sleepiness.
Changes in the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-19)Baseline, Immediate post-treatment, 12-week follow upThe PSQI-19 is a 19-item questionnaire used for measuring and identifying the quality of sleep. It provides a measure of global sleep quality, including sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency and sleep disturbances.
Changes in Short Form (Six-Dimension) Health Survey (SF-6D)Baseline, Immediate post-treatment, 12-week follow upSF-6D is a preference-based single index measure of health. A six-digit number represents each SF-6D health state, each digit denotes the level of one of six SF-6D dimensions: physical functioning, role limitation, social functioning, bodily pain, mental health, and vitality. The SF-6D index, scored from 0.0 (worst health state) to 1.0 (best health state).
Changes in Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS)Baseline, Immediate post-treatment, 12-week follow upSDS is a brief, 5-item self-report tool that assesses functional impairment in work/school, social life, and family life.
Changes in Credibility-Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ)Baseline, Immediate post-treatmentThe 6-item CEQ yielded ratings of treatment credibility, acceptability/satisfaction, and expectations for success.
Changes in Insomnia Treatment Acceptability Scale (ITAS)Baseline, Immediate post-treatmentThe 8-item Insomnia Treatment Acceptability Scale (ITAS) may examine treatment acceptability. Respondents would score each item from 0 (not at all acceptable) to 4 (very acceptable) to rate if the rationale made sense, how acceptable the treatment was for them, suitability for their sleep problem, and expected effectiveness for their sleep problem.
Changes in Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI)Baseline, Immediate post-treatment, 12-week follow upA 20-item self-report instrument designed to measure fatigue. Ratings on a 5-point Likert scale are obtained on the dimensions of general fatigue, physical fatigue, mental fatigue, reduced motivation and reduced activity. Scores on each subscale range from 4 to 20, with higher scores indicating greater fatigue.

Contacts

Primary ContactVincent Lam
pmhlab@cuhk.edu.hk39436575

Outcome results

None listed

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