Effectiveness of Digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Frontline Health Care Workers (The HCW-CBTi Study)

What this study is about

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased workload and concerns about personal and family safety for frontline healthcare workers (HCWs), which can lead to decreased well-being and worsening mental health. Sleep disruption is particularly prevalent among HCWs providing frontline COVID-19 care. It can have direct consequences on their cognitive and emotional functioning, as well as on patient safety. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia (CBTi) is a first-line treatment for insomnia. It has been shown to improve sleep health and wellbeing in the general population. However, there are significant barriers to delivering CBTi to frontline HCWs, including limited availability of trained sleep therapists and high costs. To address this, a Canada-wide randomized controlled trial is developed to determine the effectiveness of a digital CBTi program on the sleep health, mental health, wellness, and overall quality of life of frontline HCWs caring for COVID-19 patients. This study may provide an easily accessible and scalable sleep health intervention that can be included as part of a national and global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Who can join (things the study team will check)

✅ You may be able to join if…

• Health care workers with probable insomnia disorder, as indicated by a score of 16 or lower on the Sleep Condition Indicator (SCI),
• Self-identify as being involved in frontline management of patients;
• Access to a mobile phone or a computer with Internet access.

🚫 You may not be able to join if…

• Participants requiring urgent CBT treatment as per their health care provider,
• Participants received CBT in the past 3 months
• Participants participating in other psychological treatments and/or drug trials during the study;
• Self-reported additional sleep related disorders: sleep apnea or restless legs syndrome;
• Significant other significant medical or psychiatric conditions e.g. life threatening (e.g. cancer), neurological conditions (e.g. epilepsy); severe depression , active suicide intent.

Where this trial is running

• Toronto Western Hospital - UHN, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Who to contact

Mandeep Singh, MBBS, FRCPC · 416-603-5118 · mandeep.singh@uhn.ca

It's completely normal to call and ask questions before deciding anything. Mention the study ID: NCT05816304.