Attention Bias Modification for Reducing Health Anxiety During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Attention Bias Modification for Reducing Health Anxiety During the Coronavirus Pandemic: An Open Pilot Trial

The outbreak of the 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a major stressor leading to increased levels of anxiety, and specifically, an excessive fear of being infected and affected by the disease among major parts of the population. At the same time, the access to mental health services is limited due to the lockdown policy applied in many countries worldwide, warranting the development of home-delivered interventions aimed at reducing stress and anxiety symptoms. Attention Bias modification (ABM) has been found to be an efficacious computerized intervention to reduce anxiety symptoms. In this open pilot trial, participants reporting on elevated levels of health anxiety concerning the COVID-19 epidemic will receive one session of ABM over 5 consecutive days (5 sessions total). Symptoms of health anxiety, state anxiety, generalized anxiety, and depression will be measured at baseline and post-treatment.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Anxiety
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification (ABM)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Israel
  • Tel-Aviv, Israel, 6997801
    • Tel Aviv University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 3 or more symptoms (out of 7) reported in the COVID-19 anxiety inventory with a score of 4 or 5.
• Fluent Hebrew
• Having a PC computer at home with internet access

Exclusion Criteria:

• A diagnosis of dyslexia or other reading disability

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Home-delivered attention bias modification (ABM); A home-delivered ABM comprised of 5 sessions using a variant of the dot-probe task in which the target probe always replaces neutral rather than threat (health-related) stimuli to induce diversion of attention away from threat.	Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification (ABM); A home-delivered version of ABM will be administered in this open trial. ABM will be comprised of 5 sessions with a variation of the dot-probe task in which the target probe always replaces the neutral stimuli to induce diversion of attention away from threat. This condition was found effective in reducing anxiety symptoms.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline of the total score of a novel COVID-19 anxiety inventory	The COVID-19 anxiety inventory is a self-report questionnaire screening for concerns and fears regarding COVID-19 contagion. The Inventory consists of 6 items. Scores can range from 6 to 30, with higher scores denoting higher symptom severity.	up to 2 days pre-treatment and 1-2 days post-treatment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline of the total score of the Health Anxiety Inventory	The Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI) is a validated self-report measure assessing health anxiety. Total score can range from 0 to 42, with higher scores denoting higher symptom severity	up to 2 days pre-treatment and 1-2 days post-treatment
Change from baseline of the total score of the State Anxiety Inventory	The State Anxiety Inventory is a validated self-report measure for state anxiety. Total score can range from 20 to 80, with higher scores denoting higher levels of state anxiety.	up to 2 days pre-treatment and 1-2 days post-treatment
Change from Baseline of the total score of the PHQ-9	The PHQ-9 is a 9-item self-report scale for depression symptoms. Scores can range from 0 to 27, with higher scores reflecting more symptoms of depression.	up to 2 days pre-treatment and 1-2 days post-treatment
Change from Baseline of the total score of the GAD-7	The GAD-7 is a 7-item self-report scale for generalized anxiety symptoms. Scores can range from 0 to 21, with higher scores reflecting more symptoms of generalized anxiety.	up to 2 days pre-treatment and 1-2 days post-treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Tel Aviv University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 23, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 30, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): April 30, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 24, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 27, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): April 28, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 8, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 6, 2020
• Last Verified: May 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Anxiety Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: TAU-COVID-19

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No