Background: Internet cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) for health anxiety hasdemonstrated efficacy but has not been evaluated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thisstudy presents the first evaluation of the uptake and outcomes of iCBT for health anxietyduring the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: THIS WAY UP is an Australian digital mental health service which delivers iCBTinterventions to community members. We compared the uptake of THIS WAY UP’s iCBTcourse for health anxiety in an Australian adult sample who started the course before thepandemic (12th September 2019 to 11th March 2020) to during the pandemic (12th March to11th June 2020). The course was accessible to Australian adults over 18 years old, with noinclusion criteria. Outcomes included course registrations and commencements, lesson andcourse completion, and self-reported health anxiety (Short Health Anxiety Inventory),depression (Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item) and distress (Kessler-10).Results: From March to June 2020, we observed significant increases in course registrations(N=238 vs N=1057); and course commencements (N=126 vs. N= 778). Large, significantimprovements in health anxiety (g= 0.89), and distress (K10: g=0.91), and mediumimprovements in depression (g=0.55) were found. Course completion during COVID was30.5%.Conclusions: iCBT improved health anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic, and providesscalable intervention that can address increased demands for mental health services in thecommunity.
The uptake and outcomes of Internet cognitive behavioural therapy for health anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic
