Research Summaries
Why was the study done?
Canadian public safety personnel (PSP)—including border services officers, correctional workers, firefighters, paramedics, police, public safety communicators, and members of other occupations involved in protecting public safety—experience high rates of mental health problems. PSPNET’s previous research suggests that therapist-guided internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) is effective for treating various mental health concerns among Canadian PSP, but it was unknown how effective ICBT would be for Canadian PSP in a self-guided format. Previous research also suggested that online discussion forums may be a helpful addition to ICBT programs, but there was a need for additional research to explore this possibility further.
What was done in the study?
107 Canadian PSP were randomly assigned to access a self-guided ICBT program with a built-in online discussion forum or the same program without the forum. Using questionnaires, we measured treatment satisfaction and changes in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. We also examined patterns of engagement with the ICBT program and forum. We compared outcomes between the ICBT + forum and the ICBT-only groups to assess whether the forum may have impacted outcomes.
What did we find out?
Participants showed good engagement and satisfaction with the ICBT program but low engagement and mixed satisfaction with the forum. Participants in both groups showed similar reductions in symptoms of mental health problems. We concluded that self-guided ICBT appears to be useful for treating mental health concerns among Canadian PSP, but adding a forum did not appear to meaningfully enhance self-guided ICBT for this population.
Where do we go from here?
PSPNET has continued offering (and conducting research on) self-guided ICBT to PSP living anywhere in Canada. Future research will be required to determine if and how forum can be used to enhance ICBT programs for Canadian PSP.
The original wording of the study was changed and condensed for the current research summary.
Original study
McCall, H. and Hadjistavropoulos, H. Impact of an Online Discussion Forum on Self-Guided Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Public Safety Personnel: Randomized Trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2024;26:e59699
doi: 10.2196/59699PMID: 39141899.