0356 CLINICIAN PERCEPTIONS RELATED TO THE USE OF CBT-I COACH MOBILE APP

Abstract

Introduction: Clinicians' perceptions of CBT-I Coach, a free mobile app for cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), are critical for influencing the app's integration into practice. Five perceptions of the diffusion of innovations theory include: the relative advantage to current practice; the compatibility to clinician's needs; complexity, or ease of use; the innovation's trialability, or degree of experimentation; and observability, capacity to observe results. Clinicians' use, feedback, and perceptions of the app were evaluated a year after CBT-I Coach became available. Method(s): VA CBT-I trained clinicians (N = 108) were surveyed about their CBT-I caseload and CBT-I Coach use. A measure of the perceived innovation attributes was created to assess clinicians' perceptions of the app. Result(s): Fifty percent of clinicians treating CBT-I patients in the past year reported using CBT-I Coach. Of those not using the app, 83% endorsed intention to use it. Overall perceptions of CBT-I Coach were favorable. Those using CBT-I Coach had more favorable perceptions across all constructs (p < .001), except relative advantage, compared to those not using it. Perceiving the app as not complex and compatible with care were most strongly related to use (rpb = -.45, p < .001; rpb = .53, p < .001, respectively). Qualitative data corroborated these findings, as frequently cited reasons for not using the app were due to lack of patient access to smartphones, not having time to learn the app, and lack of direct access to app data. Positive qualitative themes also emerged indicating the app provides accessibility to helpful tools and improves homework adherence. Conclusion(s): While all participants perceived the advantage to using CBT-I Coach, it is imperative that this tool be relatively simple to use and compatible to clinicians' practice. Continued efforts are needed to improve ease of use and to evaluate its effectiveness.