Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40528280›Full record

Trial reportApplied psychology. Health and well-being2025

Effectiveness of internet-based self-help cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) among community adults: A randomized controlled trial.

Ka Long Chan, Nerissa Hoi Yan Pau, Scarlet Fung Oi Poon, Bun Lai Hong Lam, Chun Bun Lam, Kevin Ka Shing Chan

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Applied psychology. Health and well-being, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ka Long ChanIntegrated Mental Health Services, Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service, Hong Kong.ORCID 0000-0001-5199-2212
Nerissa Hoi Yan PauIntegrated Mental Health Services, Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service, Hong Kong.
Scarlet Fung Oi PoonIntegrated Mental Health Services, Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service, Hong Kong.
Bun Lai Hong LamIntegrated Mental Health Services, Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service, Hong Kong.
Chun Bun LamDepartment of Early Childhood Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Kevin Ka Shing ChanDepartment of Psychology, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.ORCID 0000-0002-9749-2755

Funding

the BOCHK Centenary Charity Programme
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

While research on internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) is growing, questions remain regarding its mechanisms and broader benefits beyond reducing insomnia. The present study aims to contribute to the literature by developing, implementing, and evaluating a new internet-based self-help CBT-I among community adults with mild-to-moderate insomnia in Hong Kong. Participants were randomly assigned to either a CBT-I intervention group (n = 179) or a waitlist control group (n = 179). Both groups completed questionnaire measures at baseline (T1), immediately after the intervention (T2), and 4 weeks post-intervention (T3). Compared to the control group, the intervention group demonstrated greater reductions in insomnia symptoms, sleep disturbance, pre-sleep arousal, maladaptive sleep hygiene practices, dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep, depressive and anxiety symptoms, cognitive impairments, and work and social difficulties, as well as greater improvements in well-being and health-related quality of life at both T2 and T3. The effect sizes of these changes ranged from small to medium. Mediation analyses further revealed that pre-sleep arousal significantly mediated the effects of the intervention on insomnia symptoms. Importantly, our findings demonstrate that internet-based self-help CBT-I effectively reduces insomnia severity, with pre-sleep arousal as a key mechanism, and yields broader benefits, such as alleviating affective symptoms and functional impairments and promoting health and wellness. Given its efficacy, accessibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, this intervention represents a promising first-line approach for managing insomnia in the community.

Indexed as

Cognitive Behavioral TherapyInternet-Based InterventionOutcome Assessment, Health CareSelf CareSleep Initiation and Maintenance DisordersAdultAgedFemaleHong KongHumansInternetMaleMiddle AgedQuality of LifeTreatment Outcomecognitive behavioral therapyinsomniaonline interventionrandomized controlled trialsleep

Identifiers

PMID40528280
PMCPMC12174502

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.