Preventing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the general population induced by trauma during the COVID pandemic: A simple brief intervention based on cognitive science that could be delivered digitally

Thomas Gargot; Helena Kisand; Ana Miguel; Selin Tanyeri; Tanjir Rashid Soron; Birame Serene; Guillaume Feron; Nikola Žaja; María José Valdés-Florido; Óscar Soto-Angona; Iryna Frankova

doi:10.1016/j.ejtd.2020.100193

Preventing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the general population induced by trauma during the COVID pandemic: A simple brief intervention based on cognitive science that could be delivered digitally

Eur J Trauma Dissociation. 2021 May;5(2):100193. doi: 10.1016/j.ejtd.2020.100193. Epub 2020 Dec 30.

Authors

Thomas Gargot^{1

2

3}, Helena Kisand⁴, Ana Miguel⁵, Selin Tanyeri⁶, Tanjir Rashid Soron⁷, Birame Serene⁸, Guillaume Feron⁸, Nikola Žaja⁹, María José Valdés-Florido¹⁰, Óscar Soto-Angona¹¹, Iryna Frankova¹²

Affiliations

¹ Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Excellence Center in Autism and neurodevelopmental disorders - Tours ExAC-T, CHRU Tours.
² ISIR, Sorbonne Université, CHART Laboratory-EA 4004, Paris, France.
³ THIM, Paris 8 University, Saint Denis, France.
⁴ University of Tatru, Estonia. EFPT Psychotherapy Working Group.
⁵ Centro Hospitalar Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho, Portugal.
⁶ Ege University, School of Medicine, Psychiatry Department, Turkey.
⁷ Digital Health Expert for World Health Organization.
⁸ Independent Developper.
⁹ University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia.
¹⁰ UGC Salud Mental, Virgen Macarena University Hospital, Seville, Spain.
¹¹ Department of Psychiatry, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 119-129, 08035 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
¹² Bogomolets National Medical University, Medical Psychology, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy Department, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Abstract

Most of the recent studies indicated the prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms (PTSS) are increasing after the COVID pandemic around the world. Bo et al. reported PTSS prevalence of 96.2% among the COVID-19-infected people. The sociocultural and individual vulnerability and protective factors may influence onset and maintenance of the symptoms. However, there is significant lack in understanding the risk factors and preventive factors that influence the maintenance of Post-Traumatic Stress symptoms that defines Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The digital technology gives us the unique opportunity to assess this risk, to monitor and track this evolution longitudinally. In this research project we aimed to design and develop a smartphone application for longitudinal data collection enabling to (1) predict and follow the evolution of PTSS toward PTSD, (2) assess the relative efficacy of several methods to prevent the evolution of PTSS right after exposure to trauma (1-24 h), (3) educate people about psychological effects that can occur during and after trauma, normalize acute distress and refer to professional help if a disorder is constituted. We hope that this research project will help to understand how to maximize the self help support during the acute phase (golden hours) after trauma to prevent the transition from PTSS to PTSD. A video abstract can be found on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZJehj3J8go&feature=emb_title.

Keywords: COVID; Digital tool; PTSD; Prevention; Trauma.