Incorporating EMA and EMI Into CBT-I Using mHealth and Wearable Technologies
Insomnia
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Insomnia focused on measuring ecological momentary intervention
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: Hong Kong residents at least 18 years of age; able to read Chinese and type in Chinese or English; meet the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria of insomnia disorder (difficulty initiating and/or maintaining sleep or early morning awakening, alongside clinically significant daytime impairment) based on the Brief Insomnia Questionnaire (BIQ), a diagnostic tool validated by the team; have an Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) score of at least 10 indicating clinical-level insomnia; have adequate opportunity and circumstances for sleep to occur; have an Internet-enabled mobile device (iOS or Android operating system), and are willing to provide informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: To mimic real-world settings, a less stringent set of exclusion criteria will be adopted. A Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) Item 9 score of at least 2 indicating a current moderate suicidal risk that requires active crisis management (referral information to professional services will be provided to those with serious suicidal risk); involvement in CBT-I in the past 6 months; a history of severe mental illness (e.g., bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder); major medical or neurocognitive disorders or side effects of medication that contribute significantly to insomnia or make participation infeasible based on the team's clinical experience; other untreated sleep disorders, including narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), and restless leg syndrome (RLS)/periodic leg movement disorder (PLMD) based on the cut-off scores (≥7 on narcolepsy; ≥15 on OSA; ≥7 on RLS/PLMD) in SLEEP-50; taking over-the-counter medication or psychotropic drugs that target insomnia within 2 weeks prior to the baseline assessment; and shift work, pregnancy, family or other commitments that interfere with regular sleep-wake patterns.
Sites / Locations
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
Experimental
Active Comparator
No Intervention
EMA/I CBT-I group
Pure self-help CBT-I group
Care as usual
The participants allocated to the EMI/A CBT-I group will receive 6 weeks of smartphone-based CBT-I for approximately 1 hour per week. The EMA feature will capture the participant's momentary ratings of experiences to support therapeutic decision making. The trained therapist will prescribe EMI, provide personalised sleep advice, and adjust the treatment by dynamically adapting real-time rest-activity assessments collected using EMA and wearable devices. The participants will receive tailored moment-specific feedback from therapists when daytime symptoms are indicated. Therapists will also monitor the relationship between daytime symptoms (EMA app) and the sleep-wake pattern (wearables).
The participants in the pure self-help CBT-I group will receive 6 weeks of self-help CBT-I without EMA/I and therapist support. The CBT-I content will be identical to the content used in the EMI/A CBT-I group.