Clinical Research Directory

Blue-blocking Glasses for Sleep Disorders in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Sleep problems and regulation difficulties are frequent in the child and adolescent psychiatry population. Insomnia and delayed sleep-wake phase disorders (DSPWD) are highly prevalent, and risk factors for developing more severe illness courses and chronic disorders. Pharmacological treatments of sleep disorders dominate even for the youngest patients but are unsupported by long-term data on outcome and side effects. The majority of non-pharmacological treatment options are composite and resource demanding. The investigators will examine the effects and feasibility of the isolated intervention of evening/night use of blue-blocking glasses/real darkness as adjunctive treatment for insomnia and delayed sleep phase disorder in inpatient and outpatient settings for children and adolecents.

Digital Rewards and Retention in a M-health App

Attrition and user engagement are two challenges that eHealth interventions struggle with. Attempts to address this have been previously made through gamification, instructional design and using different types of incentives. Overall, any type of reward, be it non-financial or monetary is better than the controls, but the latter usually produce a greater effect. It is also worth mentioning that having an affective value attached to the reward itself is also important to user retention and engagement. Given the ever-increasing interest in cryptocurrency and its current relevance, the present study - a randomized clinical trial with three arms - aims to compare cryptocurrency to non-monetary rewards regarding their effectiveness in reducing attrition and increasing engagement. In order to do this, a mental-health computerized intervention will be developed, in which the users will have to complete several modules, during which time they will be rewarded either with cryptocurrency, sweepstake rewards (e.g., vouchers), or nothing.