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Evaluation ViewAttendees 5

Adult- Health Psychology / Behavioral Medicine
Symposia

Symposium 99 - Opening Doors: Innovative Digital or Mobile ACT Interventions for Behavioral Medicine Populations

Saturday, November 16, 2024
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM EST
Location: Regency Ballroom A, Second Floor Mezzanine, Loews Hotel
CE: 1

Keywords: ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy), Technology / Mobile Health, Behavioral Medicine
Level of Familiarity: Basic
Recommended Readings: Gloster, A. T., Walder, N., Levin, M. E., Twohig, M. P., & Karekla, M. (2020). The empirical status of acceptance and commitment therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Journal of contextual behavioral science, 18, 181-192.,   Goebel-Fabbri, A. E. (2009). Disturbed eating behaviors and eating disorders in type 1 diabetes: clinical significance and treatment recommendations. Current diabetes reports, 9(2), 133-139.,   Herbert, M.S., Dochat, C., Wooldridge, J.S., Materna, K., Blanco, B.H., Tynan, M., Lee, M.W., Gasperi, M., Camodeca, A., Harris, D. and Afari, N., 2022. Technology-supported Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for chronic health conditions: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Behaviour research and therapy, 148, p.103995.,   ,  

Digital or mobile delivery of evidence-based treatments can greatly enhance access and impact of CBT interventions for underserved populations. In line with the conference theme of Community, Advocacy and Innovation, the current symposium presents papers on innovative ACT interventions that use digital or mobile technology to improve health and well-being. Treatments target smoking in veterans, living with cancer and eating disorders. Presenters describe the development of the treatments with input from end-users or consumers, and the impact of digital or mobile enhanced interventions on clinically meaningful outcomes.
Digital delivery of therapeutic interventions can greatly expand access to treatment. Treatment access may be limited by a number of factors, including living in rural communities or areas that lack specialty care (e.g., eating disorders), lack of adequate transportation or childcare, or chronic health conditions or severe illnesses that limit mobility (e.g., due to be immunocompromised) (Brundisini et al., 2013; Herbert et al., 2021; Moroz et al., 2020). In some cases, treatment might be available, but not accessed due to concerns about privacy, secrecy or shame (Ali et al., 2020). Digital interventions can overcome these barriers by decreasing burden or allowing treatment to take place in one’s home.
Digital delivery of therapeutic interventions can also increase treatment efficacy or potentiate treatment effects. Indeed, individuals spend most of their time inside of the therapy room. Digital interventions can deliver skills or reminders to people in their natural environments via mobile telephone (using an app or text-messaging software). This can facilitate skill acquisition and generalization and support individuals in making behavior changes in daily life. These types of treatment adjuncts might be particularly helpful for individuals who experience frequent and ongoing triggers for maladaptive behaviors (e.g., urges to binge, smoke), many occurring outside of hours when therapists are available.
Strategy. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (or “ACT”) is a transdiagnostic intervention that has been found to be helpful for a variety of problems in living (Gloster et al., 2020). ACT is listed as an empirically-supported treatment by APA Div. 12 and SAMHSA, and distributed by the World Health Organization (in the form of a self-help guide translated into 21 languages), suggesting that it may be useful for diverse populations living under a variety of conditions. Papers in the current symposium report on interventions that use online platforms and mobile phones to deliver interventions grounded in ACT. This includes a web-based ACT intervention for veterans attempting to cease tobacco use and hybrid in-person and digital components for individuals living with cancer and eating disorders in type 1 diabetes. Papers span from Phase 1 Acceptability and Feasibility Trials to Phase 2 Clinical Trials.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Describe the acceptability/ feasibility of technology-supported ACT interventions for those with diabetes, cancer, and veterans.
  2. Describe the engagement of key stakeholders in developing technology-supported ACT interventions.
  3. Outline initial evidence for the efficacy of digital or mobile-app assisted ACT interventions.
  4. Identify 2 unique findings related to the implementation of technology-supported ACT interventions for behavioral medicine populations.
  5. Discuss the implications of the findings presented for extending treatment access or improving population health.

Presentations:

  • 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM EST
    (SYM 99) Using Technology Within ACT Interventions for Adults with Cancer

    Speaker: Joanna J. Arch, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Colorado Boulder

    Co-author: Jill Mitchell, MSW, PhD – Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, Boulder

    Co-author: Sarah Genung, BA – University of Colorado Boulder

    Co-author: Madeline Nealis, MPH – University of Colorado Boulder

    Co-author: Michael Levin, PhD – Utah State University

  • 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM EST
    (SYM 99) A Web-based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Tobacco Cessation Intervention for Veterans with Mental Health Disorders: Results from Usability Testing

    Speaker: Megan M. Kelly, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – UMass Chan Medical School

    Co-author: Abigail Dempsey, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Purdue University Northwest

    Co-author: Victoria Ameral, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – VA Bedford Healthcare System

    Co-author: Beth Ann Petrakis, MPA – VA Bedford Healthcare System

    Co-author: Erin D. Reilly, Ph.D. – Veterans Integrated Service Network 1 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (VISN 1 MIRECC), Bedford, MA, USA

    Co-author: Karen Quigley, Ph.D. – Northeastern University

    Co-author: Jonathan Bricker, Ph.D. – Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

    Co-author: Jaimee Heffner, Ph.D. – Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

  • 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM EST
    (SYM 99) A Randomized Controlled Trial of Iact: A Hybrid Intervention for Eating Disorders in Type 1 Diabetes

    Speaker: Rhonda Merwin, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Duke University School of Medicine

    Co-author: Ashley Moskovich, Ph.D. – Duke University Medical Center

    Co-author: Jason Lillis, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – Brown University Medical School

    Co-author: Francesca Scheiber, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – Duke University School of Medicine

    Co-author: Dorothy Mayo, BA – Duke University

    Co-author: Bailey Irizarry, M.S. – Brown University/ The Miriam Hospital

    Co-author: Jennifer Warnick, Ph.D. – Brown University/ The Miriam Hospital

    Co-author: Sarah K. Markert, M.A. (she/her/hers) – Duke University

    Co-author: Erica Robichaud, M.A. – Brown University/ The Miriam Hospital

    Co-author: Stephanie Chang, B.A. – Duke University

    Co-author: Samantha Schram, B.A. – Lifespan Health/ The Miriam Hospital

    Co-author: Tina Chen, B.S. – Brown University/ The Miriam Hospital