Home-based video CBT for comorbid geriatric insomnia: a pilot study using secondary data analyses

Two recent studies showed that cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) is efficacious in treating insomnia in older adults with comorbid medical conditions. The authors extended these findings by comparing 12 older adults with comorbid insomnia who received a home-based video CBT program to the authors' previously published data on 24 participants who received classroom CBT or no treatment. All 36 participants were initially randomized within the same protocol, but the video arm was conducted 7 months after completion of the other two study arms. Compared to controls, the video CBT group demonstrated significant changes in five of eight self-report measures of sleep at posttreatment, including sleep latency, time awake after sleep onset, total time in bed, overall sleep quality, and dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep. Compared to controls, the video CBT group also had posttreatment improvements in daytime functioning, including mood, pain perception, social functioning, and energy-vitality. Although video CBT was not significantly different from classroom CBT on self-report measures, the attrition rate was higher (27% vs. 19%) and the number of participants who achieved clinically significant change was lower (50% vs. 73%). These preliminary findings suggest that delivering CBT in a home-based video format has the potential to serve as a first-line, cost-effective treatment for comorbid insomnia.