1104 Increasing Accessibility of Nightmare Treatment Via Mobile Health

Abstract Introduction Nightmares have been tied to a myriad of adverse mental health outcomes and are known to persist after treatment of other concerns such as posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety. When reaching clinical levels, nightmare disorder is known to effect 2-6% of the general population, Although many treatments exist for nightmare disorder and posttraumatic nightmares, Imagery Rehearsal Therapy has consistently been cited as the first line treatment. Mobile health (mHealth) technology has emerged as a viable platform from which to deliver sleep medicine interventions. Methods We assessed the efficacy of an Imagery Rehearsal Therapy-based mobile application (Dream EZ) developed by the National Center for Telehealth and Technology. College students (n = 99) were recruited in a two-part online study and randomized to the treatment condition or waitlist control. Repeated measures analysis of variance were used to assess the efficacy of smartphone-based mHealth application treatment (Dream EZ) in reduction of psychological symptoms (nightmare distress, PTSD symptoms, and suicide risk) as compared to waitlist control. Results Findings support the use of Dream EZ for nightmares distress reduction (main effect: p =.004, d = .57; interaction: p =.049, d = .41). Results regarding effectiveness of Dream EZ in relation to reduction of PTSD symptoms (main effect: p = .415, d = .17; interaction: p =.262, d = .23) showed no significant interactions between PTSD symptoms and treatment group assignment. In relation to changes in suicidality (main effect: p =.007, d = .57; interaction: p =.758, d = .07), findings were nonsignificant. Conclusion Use of nightmare-focused treatment through a mHealth smartphone application may be a viable avenue for promoting management of nightmare distress in college students. These findings present an opportunity to explore further options for increasing accessibility of sleep-focused treatment options in a challenging and fast-paced population. Support No support to disclose.