Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar 5;22(1):164.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-022-03800-x.

Ecological momentary intervention to enhance emotion regulation in healthcare workers via smartphone: a randomized controlled trial protocol

Diana Castilla  1   2 , María Vicenta Navarro-Haro  3   4 , Carlos Suso-Ribera  2   5 , Amanda Díaz-García  6 , Irene Zaragoza  2 , Azucena García-Palacios  2   5
Affiliations

Ecological momentary intervention to enhance emotion regulation in healthcare workers via smartphone: a randomized controlled trial protocol

Diana Castilla et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: CUIDA-TE is an APP that offers transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral therapy focused on enhancing emotion regulation. As a novelty, it incorporates ecological momentary interventions (EMI), which can provide psychological support in real time, when suffering arises. The main goal of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of CUIDA-TE to improve emotion regulation in healthcare workers, a population that has been particularly emotionally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: In this three-arm, randomized controlled trial (RCT) the study sample will be composed of a minimum of 174 healthcare workers. They will be randomly assigned to a 2-month EMI group (CUIDA-TE APP, n ≥ 58), a 2-month ecological momentary assessment (EMA) only group (MONITOR EMOCIONAL APP, n ≥ 58), or a wait-list control group (no daily monitoring nor intervention, n ≥ 58). CUIDA-TE will provide EMI if EMA reveals emotional problems, poor sleep quality/quantity, burnout, stress, or low perceived self-efficacy when regulating emotions. Depression will be the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes will include emotion regulation, quality of life, and resilience. Treatment acceptance and usability will also be measured. Primary and secondary outcomes will be obtained at pre- and post-intervention measurements, and at the 3-month follow-up for all groups.

Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first RCT that evaluates the efficacy of an APP-based EMI to improve emotion regulation skills in healthcare workers. This type of intervention might ultimately help disseminate treatments and reach a larger number of individuals than traditional face-to-face individual therapies.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrial.gov : NCT04958941 Registered 7 Jun 2021.

Study status: Participant recruitment has not started.

Keywords: APP; CBT; DBT; Ecological momentary intervention; Emotion regulation; Health professional; Intervention; RCT; Smartphone; Transdiagnostic.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Design flowchart
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Example of EMI flow app for anger construct
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Graphical User Interface example of both applications
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. WHO . Rolling Updates on Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) 2020.
    1. INE. Información estadística para el análisis del impacto de la crisis COVID-a9. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (España) 2021. https://ine.es/covid/covid_salud.htm. Accessed 12 Dec 2020.
    1. Martín-Brufau R, Suso-Ribera C, Corbalán J. Emotion network analysis during COVID-19 quarantine - A longitudinal study. Front Psychol. 2020;11. 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.559572. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wind TR, Rijkeboer M, Andersson G, Riper H. The COVID-19 pandemic: The ‘black swan’ for mental health care and a turning point for e-health. Internet Interv. 2020;20:100317. doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2020.100317. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. De Kock JH, Latham HA, Leslie SJ, Grindle M, Munoz SA, Ellis L, et al. A rapid review of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: implications for supporting psychological well-being. BMC Public Health. 2021;21:1–18. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data