Online Prevention of Emotional Disorders in Women Undergoing Fertility Treatments (RE-FER moodle)

Online Prevention of Emotional Disorders in Women Undergoing Fertility Treatments (RE-FER Moodle)

The main aim of this pilot study is to study the clinical utility and acceptability of a transdiagnostic psychological intervention, the Unified Protocol, delivered in online format to prevent the onset of emotional disorders in a sample of women undergoing fertility treatments (artificial insemination). The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. Can the Unified Protocol help to prevent the onset of emotional disorders during fertility treatments? The investigators expect to find a maintenance or improvement in anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as on quality of life and fertility-related stress.
2. Would the Unified Protocol delivered in online format be well accepted by women undergoing fertility treatments? The investigators expect to find high satisfaction rates both with the Unified Protocol contents and the online format.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Infertility; Emotional Disorder; Anxiety Depression
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders

Detailed Description

Women who can not achieve a spontaneous pregnancy (i.e., couples who had fertility problems, single women or same-sex couples) frequently ask for fertility treatments. These treatments can provide the opportunity to get the desired pregnancy. However, they are also experienced as a highly stressful situation which has a direct impact on women's lives. It has been reported that fertility treatments are associated with high levels of stress, worse quality of life, high interference with women's life and the development of emotional disorders such as anxiety and depression. Between 25 and 65% of women undergoing fertility treatments suffer from anxiety and depressive symptoms, frequently with high comorbidity rates between these two psychological conditions. Also worrisome, these emotional disorders are one of the most notable reasons to discontinue fertility treatments.

In this scenario, different national and international organizations have postulated the need to implement psychological assessments and interventions in women undergoing fertility treatments. However, some personal (i.e., lack of time) and logistical barriers (i.e., lack of psychologist in Human Reproduction Units and high distances to the hospital), impede that these psychological programs are finally implemented in Human Reproduction Units.

New Information and Communication Technologies have been widely developed to provide psychological care in populations suffering emotional disorders, even in women undergoing fertility treatments. However, these technology-based solutions have not been yet implemented in the Spanish national healthcare system.

According to this information, the purpose of this study is to explore the clinical utility and acceptability of a web-based transdiagnostic psychological intervention, the Unified Protocol, to prevent the onset of anxiety and depressive symptoms in women undergoing artificial inseminations.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Jorge Osma, PhD; Phone Number: +34 978618101; Email: osma@unizar.es

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Teruel, Spain, 44003
    • Jorge Osma

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Be at least 18 years of age.
• Have a good understanding of Spanish.
• Have started fertility treatment (at least one artificial insemination received).
• Signed the informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not having Internet access to access the web-page.
• Having a diagnosis of severe mental disorder.
• Active suicidal ideation at the time of evaluation.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• 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: RE-FER web; The study will be offered to all women receiving artificial inseminations in two Spanish public hospitals (Hospital Universitario General de Castellón and Hospital Universitario La Plana).

Behavioral: Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders; The Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders is a psychological intervention that focuses on a wide range of emotional disorders (i.e., anxiety, depression and related disorders). It allows care for comorbid disorders, subclinical or unspecified symptoms reducing associated costs and improving response to treatment. In our study, the Unified Protocol preventive program will be applied throughout 10 online modules. Women will have access to a web-page (moodle version) that includes audiovisual materials (e.g., written manual, videos, editable registers) and psychological assessments.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Overall Depression Severity and Impairment Scale (ODSIS)	This questionnaire consist of 5 items that evaluate the frequency and the intensity of depressive symptoms and their interference in life (e.g., work, school and social life). It is responded on a 5-point Likert scale (0=No depression - 4=The worst depression possible). The total score range from 0 to 20 points. Higher scores are indicative of greater severity and functional impairment as a result of depressive symptoms. In the Spanish population the clinical cut-off has been stablished in 10 points.	Pre-intervention; Post-intervention, 11 weeks from pre-assessment; 1 month follow-up after post-assessment; 3 months follow-up after post-assessment; 6 months follow-up after post-assessment.
Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS)	It consist of 5 items that evaluate the frequency and the intensity of anxious symptoms and their interference with the person's work or school life and social life. It is responded on a 5-point Likert scale (0=No anxiety- 4=The worst anxiety possible). The total score range from 0 to 20 points. Higher scores are indicative of greater severity and functional impairment as a result of anxious symptoms. In the Spanish population the clinical cut-off has been stablished in 10 points.	Pre-intervention; Post-intervention, 11 weeks from pre-assessment; 1 month follow-up after post-assessment; 3 months follow-up after post-assessment; 6 months follow-up after post-assessment.
Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI)	It is composed by 46 items that assess infertility-related stress. It is responded by a 7-points Likert scale (0=completely disagree - 6=completely agree). It is possible to obtain a total score of perceived stress and also it is possible to calculate 5 subscale scores (social concerns, sexual concerns, relationship concerns, need for parenthood and, reject to child-free living). Higher scores indicate greater stress.	Pre-intervention; Post-intervention, 11 weeks from pre-assessment; 1 month follow-up after post-assessment; 3 months follow-up after post-assessment; 6 months follow-up after post-assessment.
Fertility Quality of Life Questionnaire (FertiQoL)	This instrument is composed by 36 items assessing quality of life during fertility treatments. It is responded by a 5-point Likert scale (0=very bad - 4 = very good). Total scores range from 0 to 136 points, higher global scores indicating greater quality of life.	Pre-intervention; Post-intervention, 11 weeks from pre-assessment; 1 month follow-up after post-assessment; 3 months follow-up after post-assessment; 6 months follow-up after post-assessment.
Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS)	Consists of 36-item of six dimension of emotion regulation (nonacceptance of emotions, difficulties in engaging in goal-directed behaviours, impulse control difficulties, lack of emotional awareness, limited access to emotion regulation strategies and lack of emotional clarity). Items are rated on a scale of 1 ("almost never [0-10%]") to 5 ("almost always [91-100%]"). Higher scores indicate more difficulties in emotion regulation.	Pre-intervention; Post-intervention, 11 weeks from pre-assessment; 1 month follow-up after post-assessment; 3 months follow-up after post-assessment; 6 months follow-up after post-assessment.
The Multidimensional Emotional Disorder Inventory (MEDI)	This is a self-report measure that includes 49 items assessing the main transdiagnostic dimensions of Emotional Disorders: Neurotic Temperament; Positive Temperament; Depressed Mood; Autonomic Arousal; Somatic Anxiety; Social Anxiety; Intrusive Cognitions, Traumatic Re-experiencing; Avoidance. It is responded by a 9-point Likert scale (0=not characteristic of me - 8=extremely characteristic of me). Result for each dimension allows to obtain a profile to emotional disorders.	Pre-intervention; Post-intervention, 11 weeks from pre-assessment; 1 month follow-up after post-assessment; 3 months follow-up after post-assessment; 6 months follow-up after post-assessment.
Web-page adherence	The web automatically records the number of modules completed. At the end of the intervention, the number of modules completed will be analyzed in proportion to the number of modules programmed.	Post-intervention (11 weeks from pre-intervention assessment).
Adaptation of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8)	This adaptation is composed of 7 items assessing (a) quality of the intervention and quality of its components, (b) discomfort experienced during treatment, (c) satisfaction with their participation in an online individual format.	Post-intervention (11 weeks from pre-intervention assessment).
Unified Protocol Satisfaction questionaire	It consists of 7 questions that assess the general usefulness of the Unified Protocol to improve emotion regulation skills and the specific usefulness of each of the Unified Protocol skills.	Post-intervention (11 weeks from pre-intervention assessment).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Jorge Javier Osma López
• Collaborators: Hospital General Universitario de Castellón; Hospital Universitario La Plana de Castellón

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): June 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 31, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 14, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 17, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): May 20, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 20, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 17, 2024
• Last Verified: May 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Depression; Anxiety; Prevention; Unified Protocol; Reproduction
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Mental Disorders; Urogenital Diseases; Genital Diseases; Depression; Infertility; Mood Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: IPES/RE-FER/moodle

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