E-health applications in the field of traumatic stress

Abstract

E-health offers great potential in the field of traumatic stress to deliver training, assessment, prevention, and treatment of adverse outcomes after trauma worldwide. In order to encourage research on E-health applications in the field of traumatic stress, this current special issue of the European Journal of Psychotraumatology presents a series of papers divided into three emergent topics: I) development of digital interventions, II) the use of digital interventions to foster self-management and deliver therapy, and III) digital methods to improve prediction, assessment, and monitoring of post-trauma outcomes. These studies show acceptance of the tools by various end-user groups and improvements of current research and clinical practices, but also areas for improvement regarding the development process and making even better use of technological capabilities of E-Health. We propose three general themes to accelerate the quality of e-Health interventions and studies in this area in the coming years: optimizing user engagement and adherence, conducting more (innovative) research, and increasing implementation and dissemination activities. This issue appears in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is exactly at times like these that we need effective online interventions and we see an enormous increase in the use of e-Health. We hope this issue will contribute to help those affected and to serve the community worldwide.

To Predict, Prevent, and Manage Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Review of Pathophysiology, Treatment, and Biomarkers

“…To integrate our understanding of traumatic stress as a public health problem, interdisciplinary and modern approaches can facilitate the mission, including health service research [ 164 ], internet-based digital approaches like e-health [ 165 ], and artificial intelligence applications like virtual reality (VR) [ 166 ].…”

“…Lastly, the wide implementation of such interventions could be of great benefit, especially when local expert clinicians and clinics are unavailable. However, such a wide implementation must overcome several dilemmas, including physician and patient avoidance of internet interventions and patients’ preference of therapist-guided interventions [ 165 ].…”

To share or not to share – 10 years of European Journal of Psychotraumatology

“…• e-Health applications in the field of traumatic stress (Bakker, Riper, & Olff, 2020) • Traumatic loss: Mental health consequences and implications for treatment and prevention (Boelen, Olff, & Smid, 2019) • Children and natural disasters (Dyregrov, Yule, & Olff, 2018) • Interdisciplinary approaches to understand traumatic stress as a public health problem (Frewen, Schmahl, & Olff, 2018) • Child maltreatment across the lifespan (Hansen & Olff, 2017) • PTSD symptomics: network analyses in the field of psychotraumatology (Armour, Fried & Olff, 2017) • Traumatized refugees: identifying needs and facing challenges for mental healthcare (Knaevelsrud, Stammel, & Olff, 2017) • Systematic search of Bayesian statistics in the field of psychotraumatology (van de Schoot, Schalken, and Olff, 2017). • Resilience after trauma: from surviving to thriving (Nugent, Sumner, & Amstadter, 2014) • Posttraumatic stress: state-of-the-art research and clinical implications for China (Olff & Tan, 2014…”

“… e-Health applications in the field of traumatic stress (Bakker, Riper, & Olff, 2020 ) Traumatic loss: Mental health consequences and implications for treatment and prevention (Boelen, Olff, & Smid, 2019 ) Children and natural disasters (Dyregrov, Yule, & Olff, 2018 ) Interdisciplinary approaches to understand traumatic stress as a public health problem (Frewen, Schmahl, & Olff, 2018 ) Child maltreatment across the lifespan (Hansen & Olff, 2017 ) PTSD symptomics: network analyses in the field of psychotraumatology (Armour, Fried & Olff, 2017 ) Traumatized refugees: identifying needs and facing challenges for mental healthcare (Knaevelsrud, Stammel, & Olff, 2017 ) Systematic search of Bayesian statistics in the field of psychotraumatology (van de Schoot, Schalken, and Olff, 2017) . Trauma occurs in social contexts (Sijbrandij & Olff, 2016 ) Erasing memory traces of trauma with eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (Nijdam & Olff, 2016 ) Back to Basics: Integrating Clinical and Scientific Knowledge to Advance the Field of Trauma – Highlights of the ISTSS-2015 (Elzinga, Schmahl, & Olff, 2016 ) Global mental health and trauma: the current evidence and the long road ahead (Purgato & Olff, 2015 ) Trauma and PTSD: setting the research agenda (Olff et al, 2015 ) Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health (Sprague & Olff, 2014 ; Olff & Wall, 2014 ) Resilience after trauma: from surviving to thriving (Nugent, Sumner, & Amstadter, 2014 ) Posttraumatic stress: state-of-the-art research and clinical implications for China (Olff & Tan, 2014 ).…”

EHealth for Sexual Assault: A Systematic Scoping Review

“…Advances in technology has greatly impacted most domains of human interaction, including those related to sexual violence. Although the emergence of the internet has provided more opportunities for both virtual and face-to-face sexual harm (e.g., non-consensual sharing of sexual material (Patel & Roesch, 2020)), it has also created new opportunities for sexual assault prevention and intervention (Bakker et al, 2020). As an example, informal online communities (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) are increasingly being used to disclose sexual assault and conduct anti-rape activism (Gorissen et al, 2021).…”