Initial Findings on RESTORE for Healthcare Workers: an Internet-delivered Intervention for COVID-19-related Mental Health Symptoms

Overview

Journal Transl Psychiatry

Specialties Psychiatry
Public Health

Date 2022 Jun 1

PMID 35650179

Authors

Kathryn Trottier

Candice M Monson

Debra Kaysen

Anne C Wagner

Rachel E Liebman

Susan E Abbey

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Many healthcare workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic are experiencing clinical levels of mental health symptoms. Evidence-based interventions to address these symptoms are urgently needed. RESTORE (Recovering from Extreme Stressors Through Online Resources and E-health) is an online guided transdiagnostic intervention including cognitive-behavioral interventions. It was specifically designed to improve symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) associated with COVID-19-related traumatic and extreme stressors. The aims of the present study were to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy of RESTORE in healthcare workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted an initial uncontrolled trial of RESTORE in 21 healthcare workers who were exposed to COVID-19-related traumatic or extremely stressful experiences in the context of their work and who screened positive for clinical levels of anxiety, depression, and/or PTSD symptoms. RESTORE was found to be feasible and safe, and led to statistically significant and large effect size improvements in anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms over the course of the intervention through follow-up. RESTORE has the potential to become a widely disseminable evidence-based intervention to address mental health symptoms associated with mass traumas.Clinical Trials Registration: This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04873622.

Citing Articles

Coping Strategies Among Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Emotional Responses, Challenges, and Adaptive Practices.

Puia A, Pop S, Manzat B, Pintea S, Puia I, Fadgyas-Stanculete M Medicina (Kaunas). 2025; 61(2).

PMID: 40005428 PMC: 11857654. DOI: 10.3390/medicina61020311.

Determining the impact of mobile-based self-care applications on reducing anxiety in healthcare providers: a systematic review.

Askarizadeh M, Gholamhosseini L, Khajouei R, Homayee S, Askarizadeh F, Ahmadian L BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2025; 25(1):37.

PMID: 39849432 PMC: 11760082. DOI: 10.1186/s12911-024-02817-4.

Mapping the needs of healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients using the socio-ecological framework: a rapid scoping review.

Konstantinou P, Theofanous V, Karekla M, Kassianos A Hum Resour Health. 2024; 22(1):29.

PMID: 38773594 PMC: 11110340. DOI: 10.1186/s12960-024-00919-8.

The effect of resilience training with mHealth application based on micro-learning method on the stress and anxiety of nurses working in intensive care units: a randomized controlled trial.

Abbasalizadeh M, Farsi Z, Sajadi S, Atashi A, Fournier A BMC Med Educ. 2024; 24(1):442.

PMID: 38658914 PMC: 11041025. DOI: 10.1186/s12909-024-05427-w.

Potential strategies for supporting mental health and mitigating the risk of burnout among healthcare professionals: insights from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Collett G, Korszun A, Gupta A EClinicalMedicine. 2024; 71:102562.

PMID: 38618205 PMC: 11015336. DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102562.

References

Spitzer R, Kroenke K, Williams J, Lowe B . A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006; 166(10):1092-7. DOI: 10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092. View

Azoulay E, Cariou A, Bruneel F, Demoule A, Kouatchet A, Reuter D . Symptoms of Anxiety, Depression, and Peritraumatic Dissociation in Critical Care Clinicians Managing Patients with COVID-19. A Cross-Sectional Study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2020; 202(10):1388-1398. PMC: 7667906. DOI: 10.1164/rccm.202006-2568OC. View

Orru G, Ciacchini R, Gemignani A, Conversano C . Psychological Intervention Measures During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Clin Neuropsychiatry. 2021; 17(2):76-79. PMC: 8629089. DOI: 10.36131/CN20200208. View

Rutt B, Oehlert M, Krieshok T, Lichtenberg J . Effectiveness of Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Psychol Rep. 2017; 121(2):282-302. DOI: 10.1177/0033294117727746. View

Drissi N, Ouhbi S, Marques G, Diez I, Ghogho M, Janati Idrissi M . A Systematic Literature Review on e-Mental Health Solutions to Assist Health Care Workers During COVID-19. Telemed J E Health. 2020; 27(6):594-602. DOI: 10.1089/tmj.2020.0287. View

Bauerle A, Graf J, Jansen C, Dorrie N, Junne F, Teufel M . An e-mental health intervention to support burdened people in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: CoPE It. J Public Health (Oxf). 2020; 42(3):647-648. PMC: 7239146. DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdaa058. View

Johnson S, Ebrahimi O, Hoffart A . PTSD symptoms among health workers and public service providers during the COVID-19 outbreak. PLoS One. 2020; 15(10):e0241032. PMC: 7577493. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241032. View

Weiner L, Berna F, Nourry N, Severac F, Vidailhet P, Mengin A . Efficacy of an online cognitive behavioral therapy program developed for healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: the REduction of STress (REST) study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2020; 21(1):870. PMC: 7576984. DOI: 10.1186/s13063-020-04772-7. View

Luceno-Moreno L, Talavera-Velasco B, Garcia-Albuerne Y, Martin-Garcia J . Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Levels of Resilience and Burnout in Spanish Health Personnel during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17(15). PMC: 7432016. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17155514. View

10.

Torous J, Myrick K, Rauseo-Ricupero N, Firth J . Digital Mental Health and COVID-19: Using Technology Today to Accelerate the Curve on Access and Quality Tomorrow. JMIR Ment Health. 2020; 7(3):e18848. PMC: 7101061. DOI: 10.2196/18848. View

11.

Bentley K, Cohen Z, Kim T, Bullis J, Nauphal M, Cassiello-Robbins C . The Nature, Timing, and Symptom Trajectories of Dropout From Transdiagnostic and Single-Diagnosis Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety Disorders. Behav Ther. 2021; 52(6):1364-1376. PMC: 8531532. DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2021.03.007. View

12.

Kaczkurkin A, Foa E . Cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders: an update on the empirical evidence. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2015; 17(3):337-46. PMC: 4610618. View

13.

Jovarauskaite L, Dumarkaite A, Truskauskaite-Kuneviciene I, Jovaisiene I, Andersson G, Kazlauskas E . Internet-based stress recovery intervention FOREST for healthcare staff amid COVID-19 pandemic: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2021; 22(1):559. PMC: 8380103. DOI: 10.1186/s13063-021-05512-1. View

14.

Jaworski B, Taylor K, Ramsey K, Heinz A, Steinmetz S, Pagano I . Exploring Usage of COVID Coach, a Public Mental Health App Designed for the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evaluation of Analytics Data. J Med Internet Res. 2021; 23(3):e26559. PMC: 7924218. DOI: 10.2196/26559. View

15.

DEttorre G, Ceccarelli G, Santinelli L, Vassalini P, Innocenti G, Alessandri F . Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Healthcare Workers Dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021; 18(2). PMC: 7828167. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18020601. View

16.

Marvaldi M, Mallet J, Dubertret C, Moro M, Guessoum S . Anxiety, depression, trauma-related, and sleep disorders among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2021; 126:252-264. PMC: 9754720. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.03.024. View

17.

Mosheva M, Gross R, Hertz-Palmor N, Hasson-Ohayon I, Kaplan R, Cleper R . The association between witnessing patient death and mental health outcomes in frontline COVID-19 healthcare workers. Depress Anxiety. 2021; 38(4):468-479. PMC: 8014064. DOI: 10.1002/da.23140. View

18.

Gutner C, Suvak M, Sloan D, Resick P . Does timing matter? Examining the impact of session timing on outcome. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2016; 84(12):1108-1115. PMC: 5121088. DOI: 10.1037/ccp0000120. View

19.

Preti E, Di Mattei V, Perego G, Ferrari F, Mazzetti M, Taranto P . The Psychological Impact of Epidemic and Pandemic Outbreaks on Healthcare Workers: Rapid Review of the Evidence. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2020; 22(8):43. PMC: 7350408. DOI: 10.1007/s11920-020-01166-z. View

20.

Cuijpers P, Cristea I, Karyotaki E, Reijnders M, Hollon S . Component studies of psychological treatments of adult depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychother Res. 2017; 29(1):15-29. DOI: 10.1080/10503307.2017.1395922. View