Study protocol for a network meta-analysis of digital-technology-based psychotherapies for PTSD in adults

Introduction Studies on various types of digital-technology-based psychotherapies (DTPs) have indicated that they are effective for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom relief among adults. The intervention efficacy or effectiveness hierarchy, however, is still not clear. Therefore, we prop...

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Main Authors: Jinhui Tian, Longtao He, Yanling Geng, Yangu Pan, Xinyu He, Xiangshu Deng, Wenjie Duan, Huamin Peng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2020-12-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/12/e038951.full
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author Jinhui Tian
Longtao He
Yanling Geng
Yangu Pan
Xinyu He
Xiangshu Deng
Wenjie Duan
Huamin Peng
author_facet Jinhui Tian
Longtao He
Yanling Geng
Yangu Pan
Xinyu He
Xiangshu Deng
Wenjie Duan
Huamin Peng
author_sort Jinhui Tian
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Studies on various types of digital-technology-based psychotherapies (DTPs) have indicated that they are effective for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom relief among adults. The intervention efficacy or effectiveness hierarchy, however, is still not clear. Therefore, we propose to conduct a network meta-analysis to assess the relative effectiveness of various types of DTPs. We aim to establish the differential effectiveness of these therapies in terms of symptom reduction and provide high-quality evidence for treating PTSD.Methods and analyses We will search Embase, CINAHL, MEDLINE, HealthSTAR, the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, PubMed, the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, clinical trials (eg, ClinicalTrials.gov) and other academic platforms for relevant studies, mainly in English and Chinese (as we plan to conduct a trial on PTSD patients in Wuhan, China, based on the results of this network meta-analysis), from inception to October 2020. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses investigating the effectiveness of any DTPs for PTSD patients for any controlled condition will be included. The number of intervention sessions and the research duration are unlimited; the effects for different durations will be tested via sensitivity analysis. For this project, the primary measure of outcome will be PTSD symptoms at the end of treatment using raw scores for one widely used PTSD scale, PCL-5. Secondary outcome measures will include (1) dropout rate; (2) effectiveness at longest follow-up, but not more than 12 months and (3) patients’ functional recovery ratio (such as the return-to-work ratio or percentage of sick leave). Bayesian network meta-analysis will be conducted for all relative outcome measures. We will perform subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis to see whether the results are influenced by study characteristics. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessments, Development, and Evaluation framework will be adopted to evaluate the quality of evidence contributing to network estimates of the primary outcome.Ethics and dissemination The researchers of the primary trials already have had ethical approval for the data used in our study. We will present the results of thismeta-analysis at academic conferences and publish them in peer-reviewedjournals.PROSPERO registration number CRD42020173253.
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spelling doaj-art-c61bc3bc9ccd4cc49ee4fa5b79646a132025-08-20T02:26:38ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552020-12-01101210.1136/bmjopen-2020-038951Study protocol for a network meta-analysis of digital-technology-based psychotherapies for PTSD in adultsJinhui Tian0Longtao He1Yanling Geng2Yangu Pan3Xinyu He4Xiangshu Deng5Wenjie Duan6Huamin Peng7Evidence-Based Medicine Center, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, ChinaResearch Institute of Social Development, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaDepartment of Social Work, Northwest University, Xi`an, Shanxi, ChinaResearch Institute of Social Development, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaDepartment of Child Health Care, Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, ChinaResearch Institute of Social Development, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, Sichuan, ChinaDepartment of Social Work, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Social Work and Social Policy, Nanjing University, Nanjing, ChinaIntroduction Studies on various types of digital-technology-based psychotherapies (DTPs) have indicated that they are effective for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom relief among adults. The intervention efficacy or effectiveness hierarchy, however, is still not clear. Therefore, we propose to conduct a network meta-analysis to assess the relative effectiveness of various types of DTPs. We aim to establish the differential effectiveness of these therapies in terms of symptom reduction and provide high-quality evidence for treating PTSD.Methods and analyses We will search Embase, CINAHL, MEDLINE, HealthSTAR, the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, PubMed, the Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, clinical trials (eg, ClinicalTrials.gov) and other academic platforms for relevant studies, mainly in English and Chinese (as we plan to conduct a trial on PTSD patients in Wuhan, China, based on the results of this network meta-analysis), from inception to October 2020. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses investigating the effectiveness of any DTPs for PTSD patients for any controlled condition will be included. The number of intervention sessions and the research duration are unlimited; the effects for different durations will be tested via sensitivity analysis. For this project, the primary measure of outcome will be PTSD symptoms at the end of treatment using raw scores for one widely used PTSD scale, PCL-5. Secondary outcome measures will include (1) dropout rate; (2) effectiveness at longest follow-up, but not more than 12 months and (3) patients’ functional recovery ratio (such as the return-to-work ratio or percentage of sick leave). Bayesian network meta-analysis will be conducted for all relative outcome measures. We will perform subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis to see whether the results are influenced by study characteristics. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessments, Development, and Evaluation framework will be adopted to evaluate the quality of evidence contributing to network estimates of the primary outcome.Ethics and dissemination The researchers of the primary trials already have had ethical approval for the data used in our study. We will present the results of thismeta-analysis at academic conferences and publish them in peer-reviewedjournals.PROSPERO registration number CRD42020173253.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/12/e038951.full
spellingShingle Jinhui Tian
Longtao He
Yanling Geng
Yangu Pan
Xinyu He
Xiangshu Deng
Wenjie Duan
Huamin Peng
Study protocol for a network meta-analysis of digital-technology-based psychotherapies for PTSD in adults
BMJ Open
title Study protocol for a network meta-analysis of digital-technology-based psychotherapies for PTSD in adults
title_full Study protocol for a network meta-analysis of digital-technology-based psychotherapies for PTSD in adults
title_fullStr Study protocol for a network meta-analysis of digital-technology-based psychotherapies for PTSD in adults
title_full_unstemmed Study protocol for a network meta-analysis of digital-technology-based psychotherapies for PTSD in adults
title_short Study protocol for a network meta-analysis of digital-technology-based psychotherapies for PTSD in adults
title_sort study protocol for a network meta analysis of digital technology based psychotherapies for ptsd in adults
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/12/e038951.full
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