Impact of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia on Veterans' Willingness to Seek Treatment for Comorbid Health Conditions.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to determine the extent to which Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) influences participant willingness to seek treatment for behavioral health conditions. We hypothesized that, relative to sleep hygiene control, CBT-I would be associated with increased willingness to seek treatment for alcohol use, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and chronic pain. Since all participants had insomnia, we also tested CBT-I effects on willingness to seek treatment for residual or future episodes of insomnia.

METHOD: Data were derived from a randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy of CBT-I to sleep hygiene control among heavy-drinking Veterans with insomnia (N = 70; 57 men, 13 women; age M = 37.6, SD = 9.4). Willingness to seek treatment was measured on a scale from 0 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree).

RESULTS

At the end of treatment, across both groups, participants reported most willingness to seek treatment for insomnia (M = 3.08, SD = 1.04), followed by chronic pain (M = 2.82, SD = 1.21), anxiety (M = 2.76, SD = 1.24), depression (M = 2.75, SD = 1.29), PTSD (M = 2.61, SD = 1.27), and alcohol use (M = 2.51, SD = 1.19). Relative to those in sleep hygiene, CBT-I participants reported increased willingness to seek treatment for insomnia [F(1,48) = 10.25, p = .002, d = 0.86] and chronic pain [F(1,48) = 5.76, p = .02, d = 0.60]. No other group-by-time interactions were significant.

CONCLUSIONS

CBT-I does increase willingness for future treatment, but only targeting insomnia and chronic pain. Continued research on how to engage Veterans in evidence-based treatment for common mental health concerns (e.g. alcohol use, depression, anxiety, and PTSD) is needed.