This research study is designed to investigate the effects of a simple cognitive task (a memory reactivation cue following by playing the computer game "Tetris") on flashbacks and other post-traumatic stress symptoms after a road traffic accident. Patients presenting to a hospital emergency department soon after a road traffic accident will be randomly allocated to either the simple cognitive task intervention or usual care. Participants will be followed up at one week and one month. It is predicted that participants given the simple cognitive task intervention will develop fewer flashbacks and less severe clinical symptoms than those who are not. This will inform the potential future development of a simple technique to prevent distressing psychological symptoms after a traumatic event.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
71
Emergency Department, John Radcliffe Hospital
Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
Number of flashbacks recorded by participants in a Flashback Record in the week after the accident
Time frame: Within one week after the accident (Flashback Record will be returned to a researcher at one week follow-up)
Post-traumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS)
Time frame: One week and one month follow-up
Impact of Event Scale - Revised (IES-R)
Time frame: One week and one month follow-up
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)
Time frame: One week and one month follow-up
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