ARTICLE
Year : 2022 | Volume
: 20 | Issue : 2 | Page : 170--178
“Doing What Matters in Times of Stress” to Decrease Psychological Distress During COVID-19: A Randomised Controlled Pilot Trial
Ceren Acarturk1, Gulsah Kurt1, Zeynep Ilkkursun1, Ersin Uygun2, Akfer Karaoglan-Kahilogullari3
1 Department of Psychology, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey
2 Trauma and Disaster Mental Health, Bilgi University, Istanbul, Turkey
3 WHO Country Office Turkey, Ankara, Turkey
Correspondence Address:
PhD Ceren Acarturk
Department of Psychology, Koc University, Istanbul
Turkey
Despite the increasing psychological distress during COVID-19, utilisation of face-to-face psychological interventions decreased profoundly. The aim of this study involving two parallel, two-armed pilot randomised controlled trials was to examine the effectiveness of a guided self-help intervention “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress” (DWM) in decreasing psychological distress in Turkish and Syrian participants. Seventy-four Turkish nationals and 50 Syrian refugee adults with psychological distress were randomly allocated to a DWM group or wait-list control group. The primary outcome measure was the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 postintervention. Secondary outcome measures were the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist for DSM-5, Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale and Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II postintervention. Although this study was not powered to detect a significant effect for DWM postassessment between DWM and the control group, results showed a significant improvement in depression symptoms among Turkish participants in the DWM group (d = 0.46) and in PTSD symptoms among Syrian participants in the DWM group (d = 0.67) from pre- to postintervention assessment. These results indicate the potential of DWM to decrease mental health problems during the pandemic and importance of a fully powered, definitive controlled trial to examine its effectiveness both for the host community and refugees to reduce psychological distress during COVID-19.
How to cite this article:
Acarturk C, Kurt G, Ilkkursun Z, Uygun E, Karaoglan-Kahilogullari A. “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress” to Decrease Psychological Distress During COVID-19: A Randomised Controlled Pilot Trial.Intervention 2022;20:170-178
|
How to cite this URL:
Acarturk C, Kurt G, Ilkkursun Z, Uygun E, Karaoglan-Kahilogullari A. “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress” to Decrease Psychological Distress During COVID-19: A Randomised Controlled Pilot Trial. Intervention [serial online] 2022 [cited 2023 Jun 3 ];20:170-178
Available from: http://www.interventionjournal.org//article.asp?issn=1571-8883;year=2022;volume=20;issue=2;spage=170;epage=178;aulast=Acarturk;type=0 |
|
|
|
