COMPUTERIZED SELF-HELP TREATMENT FOR PRIMARY INSOMNIA

该项目的主要目标是开发一种手持电脑，为原发性慢性失眠症患者提供治疗方案。计算机将利用提示和定时机制来测量睡眠行为，从而为特定用户创建适当的治疗方案。基于刺激控制和睡眠限制的行为原则，计算机将提示上床和起床的时间，并根据个人前一晚的睡眠调整这些时间。在第一阶段，将对10名患有原发性慢性失眠症的患者进行焦点小组讨论，这将有助于开发计算机程序以及随后的程序指南和放松录音带。然后，该产品将在60名患有原发性慢性失眠症的参与者中进行小规模可行性研究。该项目的开发将遵循结构化的“概念验证”方法，包括原型开发、测试和改进的几个交互周期。来自研究的数据和受试者的反馈将用于指导进一步的产品开发和为原发性慢性失眠症用户量身定制算法的需要。拟议的商业应用：拟议的产品，失眠评估和治疗项目，将为患有慢性原发性失眠症的人提供计算机辅助的自助行为策略。美国有超过3000万成年人患有慢性原发性失眠症，只有一小部分失眠症患者接受专业治疗，因此失眠患者的市场很大，他们希望获得一种现成的有效治疗方法。考虑到行为治疗相对于药物治疗具有更好的长期疗效和可接受性，计算机辅助的失眠症自助行为治疗应该具有广泛的商业吸引力。

The primary goal of the project is to develop a hand-held computer that will provide a treatment program for individuals with primary chronic insomnia. The computer will utilize prompting and timing mechanisms in order to measure sleep behavior and thus create an appropriate treatment program for the specific user. Based on the behavioral principles of stimulus control and sleep restrictions, the computer will prompt times to bed and out of bed, adjusting these times in reference to the individual's previous night's sleep. For phase I, a focus group will be conducted with 10 individuals suffering from primary chronic insomnia that will aid the development of the computer program and a subsequent program guide and relaxation audiocassette. The product will then be tested in a small scale feasibility study with 60 participants who suffer from primary chronic insomnia. Development of the program will follow a structured "proof of concept" approach involving several interactive cycles of prototype development, testing, and refinement. Data from the study and feedback from subjects will be used to guide further product development and the need to tailor algorithms for primary chronic insomnia users. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The proposed product, the Insomnia Assessment and Treatment program, will provide a computer-assisted, self-help behavioral strategy for people experiencing chronic primary insomnia. With over 30 million adults in the U.S. experiencing chronic primary insomnia and with only a small percentage of people with insomnia utilizing professional treatment, there is a large market of people with insomnia who desire a readily available and effective treatment. Given the superior long-term outcomes and acceptability of behavioral treatments for insomnia relative to pharmacologic treatments, a computer-assisted self-help behavioral treatment for insomnia should have wide commercial appeal.