The Effectiveness of an Online Self-Delivered Death Anxiety Intervention

The Effectiveness of an Online Self-Delivered Death Anxiety Intervention: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine the effectiveness of the online self-delivered death anxiety intervention developed by our team in the general population with a randomized controlled trial. The study will recruit 50 participants, with 25 randomized to the death anxiety intervention group and 25 randomized to the control group (waiting list). The online intervention on death anxiety consists of 4 phases that take about 2 hours in total. The primary outcome DAS (Death Anxiety Scale) and DABBS (Death Anxiety Beliefs and Behaviors Scale) will be administered on baseline, post-treatment, 1-week follow-up, and 2-week follow-up assessments.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18-65 years of age
• Normal literacy skills and ability to use a smartphone proficiently
• Higher death anxiety that is above the cutoff of our measurement
• Voluntarily participate in this intervention and be able to provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe depressive state or risk of suicidal self-injury, i.e., the total score of Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item ≥19 or the score of 9th item ≥2
• Diagnosed within 6 months with schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, and other psychiatric disorders
• Have received any intervention for death anxiety or CBT intervention on any topic within the past 6 months.