Therapist-Assisted Web-Based Intervention for Prolonged Grief Disorder After Cancer Bereavement: Randomized Controlled Trial

Bereavement due to cancer increases the risk of prolonged grief disorder. However, specialized treatment options for prolonged grief after a loss due to illness are still scarce. The aim of this study is to extend previous findings by evaluating a web-based cognitive behavioral intervention with asy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:JMIR mental health 2022-02, Vol.9 (2), p.e27642-e27642
Main Authors: Kaiser, Julia, Nagl, Michaela, Hoffmann, Rahel, Linde, Katja, Kersting, Anette
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior modification
Cancer therapies
Clinical significance
Clinical trials
Cognitive therapy
Grief
Internet
Intervention
Mental depression
Mental disorders
Mental health
Original Paper
Post traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic growth
Psychosis
Quality of life
Questionnaires
Social support
Stress
Substance abuse treatment
Suicides & suicide attempts
Therapists
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Summary:Bereavement due to cancer increases the risk of prolonged grief disorder. However, specialized treatment options for prolonged grief after a loss due to illness are still scarce. The aim of this study is to extend previous findings by evaluating a web-based cognitive behavioral intervention with asynchronous therapist support, consisting of structured writing tasks adapted specifically for prolonged grief after cancer bereavement. The intervention was evaluated in a purely web-based randomized waitlist-controlled trial. Open-access recruitment of participants was conducted on the web. Prolonged grief (Inventory of Complicated Grief), depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, posttraumatic growth, somatization, sleep quality, and mental and physical health were assessed on the web via validated self-report measures. A total of 87 participants were randomized into the intervention group (IG; 44/87, 51%) or the waitlist control group (43/87, 49%). Of the participants, 7% (6/87) dropped out of the study (5/44, 11%, in the IG). Of the 39 completers in the IG, 37 (95%) completed all intervention tasks. The intervention reduced symptoms of prolonged grief (intention-to-treat: P
ISSN:2368-7959
2368-7959
DOI:10.2196/27642