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A Stepped Care Model to Deliver CBT-I in Community

Effectiveness of a Stepped Care Model to Deliver Cognitive-behaviour Therapy for Insomnia in Adults, a Pragmatic Stepped-wedge Cluster Randomized Trial

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06109363
Enrollment
1100
Registered
2023-10-31
Start date
2023-10-23
Completion date
2027-04-22
Last updated
2026-06-24

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

Conditions

Insomnia, Sleep Disturbance

Keywords

Insomnia, Stepped care model, Stepped wedge cluster randomized trial

Brief summary

Insomnia is one of the most common sleep disorders and affects approximately 10 - 40% of the population across different age groups in Hong Kong. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the first line treatment for adult insomnia due to its comparable effect to medication in short term but is more sustainable in the long run. However, only a few sufferers have received CBT-I, due to limited accessibility, lack of trained sleep therapists, time costing and geographical limitations. To increase CBT-I accessibility, different formats of CBT-I have been proposed. Empirical evidence including ours consistently suggested that self-help digital CBT-I is effective in improving sleep while its augmentation with a guided approach could further enhance the treatment gain. Previous evidence has suggested that although self-help CBT-I could lead to positive outcomes, the drop out rate is quite high and maybe less effective for patients with comorbidity or high level of distress. Thus, a stepped-care approach to CBT-I that utilizes online self help and therapist-guided modes of delivery might be a potential way to facilitate efficient dissemination of effective insomnia treatment resources. The effectiveness of the stepped care model will be evaluated in a real world setting using stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled design. The program will be rolled out to different districts in Hong Kong sequentially in 18 districts over 4 steps with a eqaully spaced time periods.

Detailed description

This interventional study will be a multicenter, assessor-blinded, pragmatic stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial. A total of 18 districts will be included in the study and the randomization will be carried out based on the districts. The stepped-care CBT-I intervention will be sequentially rolled out to the 4-6 districts per step according to a computer-generated random number while the remaining clusters will continue to stay unexposed to the CBT-I intervention over the control period. Therefore after 4-step exposure, all clusters will receive the stepped-care CBT-I intervention. A total of 3 follow-up assessments (post intervention, 3-month and 12-month follow up) will be conducted to assess the effectiveness and long-term effects of the stepped care model.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALCognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I)

CBT-I intervention will be provided to participants once their districts are exposed.

Sponsors

Chinese University of Hong Kong
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
CROSSOVER
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

Pragmatic stepped wedge design - over 4 months, 18 sites enter trial at 1 month intervals. 2

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

1. Chinese adults aged 18-70 years old, 2. The score of Insomnia Severity Index ≥ 10.

Exclusion criteria

1. present with psychotic disorders such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, 2. present with severe depression or suicidal ideation, 3. present with neurodegenerative diseases that prevent participant from completing the intervention (e.g., dementia and Parkinson's disease). 4. unable to provide consent

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Insomnia severity indexPost-intervention (ranging from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, depending on the treatment level), 3-month post-intervention and 12-month post-intervention follow upThe primary outcome will be the perceived insomnia severity measured by Insomnia Severity Index (ISI).

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Severity of depressionPost-intervention (ranging from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, depending on the treatment level), 3-month post-intervention and 12-month post-intervention follow upPatient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) will be used to measure the severity of depression.
Severity of anxietyPost-intervention (ranging from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, depending on the treatment level), 3-month post-intervention and 12-month post-intervention follow upGeneral Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) will be used to measure the severity of anxiety.
Health-related quality of lifePost-intervention (ranging from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, depending on the treatment level), 3-month post-intervention and 12-month post-intervention follow upThe health-related quality of life (HRQoL) will be measured by the EuroQol-5D (EQ).
Chronic insomnia diagnosisPost-intervention (ranging from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, depending on the treatment level), 3-month post-intervention and 12-month post-intervention follow upA checklist based on Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders will be implemented to measure the incidence of chronic insomnia.
Medication usagePost-intervention (ranging from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, depending on the treatment level), 3-month post-intervention and 12-month post-intervention follow upA checklist will be used to measure the subject's medication usage change over the past 3 months.
Clinical global impressionPost-intervention (ranging from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, depending on the treatment level), 3-month post-intervention and 12-month post-intervention follow upClinical Global Impression (CGI) will be used to assess the overall improvement or change in a patient's condition over time.
Patient-report clinical global impressionPost-intervention (ranging from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, depending on the treatment level), 3-month post-intervention and 12-month post-intervention follow upA single-item CGI will be used to ask the participant whether they experience sleep improvement or change over the past week or not.
Sleep durationPost-intervention (ranging from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, depending on the treatment level), 3-month post-intervention and 12-month post-intervention follow upTwo self-report questions will be used to record the sleep duration during weekdays and weekends of the participants.
Subjective sleep as measured by sleep diaryPost-intervention (ranging from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, depending on the treatment level), 3-month post-intervention and 12-month post-intervention follow upSelf-report sleep diary will be used to record subjective sleep of the participants including total time in bed, sleep onset latency, total sleep duration, sleep efficiency and wake after sleep onset.
Healthcare resource usePost-intervention (ranging from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, depending on the treatment level), 3-month post-intervention and 12-month post-intervention follow upThe use and expense of sleep-promoting medication, psychotherapy, and other complementary treatments for sleep improvement over the past 3 months will be collected from individual participants using a self-developed questionnaire, with a focus on their healthcare resource utilization.
Work and social functioningPost-intervention (ranging from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, depending on the treatment level), 3-month post-intervention and 12-month post-intervention follow upA 5-item questionnaire developed from Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS) will be used to measure the daytime functioning of the participants such as ability to work, home management, social and private leisure activities, and close relationship maintenance.

Countries

Hong Kong

Contacts

CONTACTRachel Ngan Yin Chan, PhD
rachel.chan@cuhk.edu.hk39710548
CONTACTJucheng Yu, PhD
juchengyu@cuhk.edu.hk39710548
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORYun Kwok Wing, FRCPsych

Department of Psychiatry, the Chinese University of Hong Kong

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jun 25, 2026