Effect of Culturally Tailored, Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Black Women

Importance

Black women are at risk for insomnia disorder. Despite interest in addressing sleep health disparities, there is limited research investigating the efficacy of criterion-standard treatment (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia [CBT-I]) among this racial minority population.

Objective

To compare the efficacy of a standard version of an internet-delivered CBT-I program, a culturally tailored version, and a sleep education control at improving insomnia symptoms.

Design, Setting, and Participants

In this single-blind, 3-arm randomized clinical trial, participants in a national, longitudinal cohort (Black Women’s Health Study [BWHS]) were recruited between October 2019 and June 2020. BWHS participants with elevated insomnia symptoms were enrolled and randomized in the current study.

Interventions

Participants were randomized to receive (1) an automated internet-delivered treatment called Sleep Healthy Using the Internet (SHUTi); (2) a stakeholder-informed, tailored version of SHUTi for Black women (SHUTi-BWHS); or (3) patient education (PE) about sleep.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The primary outcome was insomnia severity (Insomnia Severity Index [ISI]). Index score ranged from 0 to 28 points, with those scoring less than 8 points considered to not have clinically significant insomnia symptoms and a score of 15 points or higher suggesting insomnia disorder. An ISI score reduction of more than 7 points was considered a clinically significant improvement in insomnia symptoms. The SHUTi-BWHS program was hypothesized to be more effective at significantly decreasing insomnia severity compared with the SHUTi program and PE.

Results

A total of 333 Black women were included in this trial, and their mean (SD) age was 59.5 (8.0) years. Those randomized to receive either SHUTi or SHUTi-BWHS reported significantly greater reductions in ISI score at 6-month follow-up (SHUTi: −10.0 points; 95% CI, −11.2 to −8.7; SHUTi-BWHS: −9.3 points; 95% CI, −10.4 to −8.2) than those randomized to receive PE (−3.6 points; 95% CI, −4.5 to −2.1) (P < .001). Significantly more participants randomized to SHUTi-BWHS completed the intervention compared with those randomized to SHUTi (86 of 110 [78.2%] vs 70 of 108 [64.8%];P = .008). Participants who completed either intervention showed greater reductions in insomnia severity compared with noncompleters (−10.4 points [95% CI, −11.4 to −9.4] vs −6.2 points [95% CI, −8.6 to −3.7]).

Conclusions and Relevance

In this randomized clinical trial, both the SHUTi and SHUTi-BWHS programs decreased insomnia severity and improved sleep outcomes more than PE. The culturally tailored SHUTi-BWHS program was more effective at engaging participants with the program, as a greater proportion completed the full intervention. Program completion was associated with greater improvements in sleep.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:NCT03613519