Helping Urgent Care Users Cope with Distress about Physical Complaints
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Helping Urgent Care Users Cope with Distress about Physical Complaints: A Randomised Controlled Trial
IRAS ID
150153
Contact name
Richard Morriss
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Head of Research and Graduate Services
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 5 months, 17 days
Research summary
Helping Urgent Care Users Cope with Distress about Physical Complaints
Background
Medically Unexplained Symptoms (MUS) may cost the National Health Service (NHS) £3 billion per year in unnecessary expenditure, much of it on unscheduled/urgent care and in-patient admission. Clinical Commissioning Groups are incentivised to reduce emergency care use and the Department of Health is spending up to an additional £400 million per year to provide psychological treatment. However, face to face delivery of this intervention through secondary care mental health and Improving Access to Psychological Therapies(IAPT) services has not been acceptable to these service users. Remotely delivered psychological treatment (therapy delivered via video calling systems similar to Skype or over the telephone)may be both more acceptable to service users than face to face treatment in IAPT services and may be just as effective as in secondary acute care.
Aims
We wish to determine the clinical and cost effectiveness of remotely delivered cognitive behaviour therapy for health anxiety in repeated users of unscheduled/urgent primary or secondary care for physical symptoms without an underlying physical health cause. We also want to determine what aspects might facilitate and hinder the delivery of remote CBT and how such treatment might fit into a wider care pathway to enhance patient experience of care.
Methods of research
Randomised controlled trial(RCT) of 6-10 sessions of cognitive behaviour therapy for health anxiety delivered by telephone or through video calling versus treatment as usual. Over a period of 12 months we will assess change in health anxiety, health care use, generalised anxiety, depression, somatic distress, work and social adjustment and quality of life for both groups. We will also carry out qualitative interviews with some service users and staff who are involved in the management and delivery of unscheduled/urgent care to determine what aspects facilitate and hinder the delivery of the intervention.REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1102
Date of REC Opinion
25 Jul 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion