STUDENT-LED STRESS- AND SLEEP-INTERVENTIONS : Longitudinal changes in mental health symptoms for primary care patients

Abstract: Mental health issues are a growing problem, and vast contributors are stress-related mental health issues and sleep problems. The health care system is struggling to adjust, and to calibrate the right interventions to the right patients at the right time. One potential part of a solution has been employed in the Swedish region of Västerbotten, with psychology students administering brief treatment interventions towards stress and sleep problems in the primary care setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate these interventions on long-term symptom outcome measures (of stress, sleep problems, anxiety, depression, exhaustion and somatic symptoms), and to assess whether potential treatment effect was influenced by initial symptom severity, medication status at referral and main source of income. The trial was conducted between the fall semester of 2020 and the fall semester of 2022 and psychometric instruments were administered at four different timepoints, from pre-treatment to a twelve months follow-up, rendering a sample size of 58 participants. Several statistical analyses were carried out, using a method of mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of the analyses show a main effect of symptom change over time on all measures of outcome and a main effect of initial symptom severity as well as an interaction effect between medication status and symptom change over time on a number of outcome measures. The results indicate that the brief interventions administered by psychology students under supervision of certified psychologists can be a useful intervention for a select group of patients, whereas some patients may be better suited for a more tailored treatment, such as a more comprehensive one delivered by an experienced psychologist. Further implications are discussed.