PTSD Coach Sweden: reduction and management of symptoms related to traumatic events

We investigated if access and use of a self-management intervention decreasef trauma-related reactions, increased wellbeing in people’s everyday.

The purpose of the study was to investigate if use of an easily accessible self-management intervention could relieve suffering or support people in the process of recovering from posttraumatic stress. The long-term purpose of the project was to make support and information more available for people who have been exposed to traumatic events, and therefore risk developing posttraumatic stress. This could help facilitate the work of health care instances in extraordinarily demanding situations, such as during severe events where many people are exposed to traumatic events simultaneously.

PTSD Coach Sweden is a smartphone application (app) containing information about posttraumatic stress, support strategies and exercises for managing symptoms, and contact information to receive care for these complications. The app was developed by American government organizations (National Center for PTSD in collaboration with the Department of Defense's National Center for Telehealth and Technology). We at the Centre for Disaster Psychiatry have adapted, translated and evaluated user satisfaction and perceived helpfulness of the Swedish version of PTSD Coach. Read the article; A pilot study of user satisfaction and perceived helpfulness of the Swedish version of the mobile app PTSD Coach: European Journal of Psychotraumatology: Vol 9, No sup1. 

We have also evaluated benefits, harms and efficacy of the Swedish version of PTSD Coach. Efficacy, Benefits, and Harms of a Self-management App in a Swedish Trauma-Exposed Community Sample (PTSD Coach): Randomized Controlled Trial: J Med Internet Res 2022;24(3):e31419.

In addition, we investigated whether access to PTSD Coach improved self-rated health and the relations between use of an app, specific strategies and health. Ecological momentary assessment of self-rated health, daily strategies and self-management app use among trauma-exposed adults: European Journal of Psychotraumatology: Vol 12 (1), 2021.

The participants in the study were interviewed over the phone and responded to questionnaires online or in their mobile phone at a few time points during nine months’ time. Participants got access to the app at the beginning of the study or after three months.

Project team:
Filip Arnberg, primary investigator
Ida Hensler
Josefin Sveen
Martin Cernvall
Kerstin Bergh Johannesson