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A Remote Self-directed Psychological Intervention for the Public in Response to COVID-19: The PAUSE program

The emergence of a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19), resulted in a global pandemic. The psychological impact of a pandemic is multifaceted, acute, and has longer term ill effects. The most prevalent symptoms relating to psychological distress in relation to a pandemic are low mood, irritability, anxiety, and elevated general distress. We propose to deliver a remote online, self-directed, integrative 6-session intervention known as ‘The PAUSE programme’. The primary recruitment target is the general public, to support their psychological well-being, and to mitigate psychological distress. Participants will complete a series of questionnaires about their own well-being, measures of event-specific trauma, and specific measures in relation to COVID-19. Participants will be stratified into either a clinical or non-clinical group is based on cut-offs on their measures of psychological well-being. Participants will complete a baseline assessment prior to engaging with the PAUSE programme, and will complete 2 further serial assessments after the intervention period and at 12-weeks. The assessment timeline will be mapped to COVID-19 population-based statistics i.e., rates of confirmed cases, and deaths. The World Health Organization Well-Being Index, and the Impact of Event Scale – Revised and the State Anxiety Scale are primary outcomes. The Brief COPE Inventory, post-traumatic growth inventory, are secondary outcome measures. Analyses will consist of mixed model multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) followed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), and treatment effect-sizes will be calculated. Reliable change indices will also be calculated. This research has the potential to act as a publicly accessible intervention for people experiencing elevated distress resulting specifically from COVID-19. The intervention’s easy-to-access platform and interactive nature supports programme completion. Our evidenced-based design and 6-session structure is in line with current stepped-care approaches to psychological intervention in Ireland. Following this pandemic, this intervention may have continued applicability for the Irish public.