Brief Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia vs. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: Results of a Randomized Noninferiority Clinical Trial Among Veterans.

Bramoweth AD, Lederer LG, Youk AO, Germain A, Chinman MJ. Brief Behavioral Treatment for Insomnia vs. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: Results of a Randomized Noninferiority Clinical Trial Among Veterans. Behavior Therapy. 2020 Jul 1; 51(4):535-547.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

• CDA 13-260 – Implementation of Brief Treatments for Insomnia in Primary Care

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Abstract:

The goal of this study was to compare a brief behavioral treatment for insomnia (BBTI), which has fewer sessions (4), shorter duration ( < 30-45 minutes), and delivers treatment in-person plus phone calls to cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI), which has 5 in-person sessions. The hypothesis was BBTI would be noninferior to CBTI. The Reliable Change Index was used to establish a noninferiority margin (NIM) of 3.43, representing the maximum allowable difference between groups on the pre-post Insomnia Severity Index change (?ISI). Sixty-three veterans with chronic insomnia were randomized to either BBTI or CBTI and veterans in both groups had significant reductions of their insomnia severity per the ISI and improved their sleep onset latency, total wake time, sleep efficiency, and sleep quality per sleep diaries. While CBTI had a larger pre-post ?ISI, this was not significantly different than ?ISI BBTI and was less than the NIM. However, the 95% confidence interval of the between group pre-post ?ISI extended beyond the NIM, and thus BBTI was inconclusively noninferior to CBTI. Limitations, such as small sample size and high rate of dropout, indicate further study is needed to compare brief, alternative yet complementary behavioral insomnia interventions to CBTI. Still, evidence-based brief and flexible treatment options will help to further enhance access to care for veterans with chronic insomnia, especially in non-mental-health settings like primary care.