The Lóa Study: A Randomised Control Trial of a Brief Digital Intervention to Support Women Experiencing Intrusive Memories of Traumatic Events During Their Lifespan From the SAGA Cohort

Intrusive memories are sensory memories of a traumatic event(s) that spring to mind involuntarily, and can evoke strong emotions and disrupt functioning in daily life. Previous research has indicated that a brief cognitive intervention can prevent the development of intrusive memories as well as reduce the number of intrusive memories of long-standing trauma. Initial pilot work (using case studies and a pilot study, ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05089058) with women in Iceland indicates that the intervention is acceptable and feasible. This randomised controlled trial will compare 3 arms to investigate if access to a cognitive task - either a brief self-guided imagery-competing task or a brief self-guided psychoeducation and signposting task - versus treatment as usual, can reduce the number of intrusive memories in week 5 (i.e., between-groups comparison), controlling for the number of intrusive memories in the baseline week. The effect on the number of intrusive memories in week 5 (primary outcome), and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress, sleep and cognitive functioning will be tested. This study is funded by the Icelandic Research Fund (11709-0270) and (200095-5601) and The Oak Foundation (OCAY-18-442).