EASE - Early Support after Exposure to Trauma

It is common to experience a traumatic episode during your lifetime. Some are victims in large disasters, such as a natural disaster or a terrorist attack, while others are exposed to smaller cries with fewer victims, such as accidents, violence/abuse, or sudden loss of a loved one. Traumatic experiences can sometimes cause immense suffering and psychological distress, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Unfortunately, we do not know how to effecively prevent PTSD in victims of crises and disasters. The research project Early Support after Exposure to Trauma (EASE), led by the Norwegian Center for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, in collaboration with governmental agencies, municipalities, user groups, and national and international research partners, has the goal of substantially improving psychosocial services for victims of trauma. Condensed Internet-delivered Prolonged Exposure (CIPE) is an intervention designed for victims with symptoms of PTSD soon after a traumatic incident, that has been shown to be helpful in previous studies. In EASE we want to show that CIPE can be used by crisis services in Norwegian municipalities so that victims receive better help while the municipalities can help more people. In EASE crisis services of 14 municipalities will learn to use CIPE. These services are responsible for providing psychosocial support for victims of traumatic incidents. In the study, participating victims will be randomly selected to either receive CIPE or normal support offered by the municipality. That way we can compare and see if CIPE provides better help. We will also investigate if CIPE can reduce the amount of resources the municipalities use so that more people can receive help, and if fewer victims will need specialized treatment. Lastly, EASE will investigate how politicians and government agencies best can support good psychosocial care in municipal crisis services.

Traumatic experiences can cause immense suffering and psychological distress, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but no evidence-based preventive interventions are readily available to victims in the aftermath of crises and disasters. In Early Support after Exposure to Trauma (EASE), the Norwegian Center for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies is collaborating with governmental agencies, municipalities, user groups, and national and international research partners, with the shared goal of substantially improving access to evidence-based psychosocial services for victims of trauma. Condensed Internet-delivered Prolonged Exposure (CIPE) is an intervention designed for victims with symptoms of PTSD soon after a traumatic incident, that has been shown to be a feasible and efficacious in previous studies. With a hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial, EASE aim to show that CIPE is can be a preventive solution that is clinically efficient, cost-effective, and implementable at scale in Norwegian municipalities. EASE establish and will maintain, a strong interdisciplinary and cross-sectional collaboration of organizations involved in psychosocial response to crises and disasters in Norway. Based on established partnerships, EASE will implement CIPE in the crisis services of 11 municipalities. These services are responsible for providing psychosocial support for victims of traumatic incidents. With a randomized controlled trial EASE will determine if CIPE is effective in reducing psychological symptoms and preventing the development of PTSD, compared to treatment as usual (TAU). Furthermore, EASE will estimate if CIPE enhances quality of life, reduce the need for second-tier health services, and is cost-effective when compared to the ordinary services delivered by crisis services. Lastly, EASE will determine policy factors that influence the implementation of CIPE and develop targeted policy implementation strategies in municipal crisis services.