Testing a Novel Attention Based Training Prevention Strategy for First Responders: FirstFocus a Mobile App

NCT07247149 | Enrolling By Invitation

• 1 other identifier: 2025-024-PAU
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 80
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

First responders are frequently exposed to high-stress and traumatic events, putting them at increased risk for mental health challenges such as posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression. Access to traditional mental health services is often hindered by stigma, time constraints, and a lack of tailored resources. Mobile app-based interventions offer a promising solution due to their accessibility and potential to address mental health proactively and in a time sensitive way. Attention training has emerged as a simple way to prevent distress and the emergence of future mental health concerns. The proposed research will test a mobile app: FirstFocus which will leverage targeted attention training to prevent stress/distress during shifts and enhance the wellbeing of rural first responders. The specific aims are to (1) test the feasibility and acceptability of FirstFocus as an intervention for rural first responders; (2) to test the short-term preventative efficacy of attention training on state stress/distress and its longer-term efficacy for improving professional quality of life and reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Conditions

Wellbeing

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Client Satisfaction Questionnaire

  The Client Satisfaction Questionnaire - 8 item version (CSQ-8; Nguyen et al., 1983) will assess participant satisfaction with the FirstFocus app at the 60-day assessment. The CSQ-8 yields a total score ranging from 8 to 32, with higher scores indicating greater satisfaction.

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks.

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Stress Reduction (visual analogue scale)

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks.

• Professional Quality of Life

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

• Symptoms of depression

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

• Symptoms of anxiety

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

• Stress

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

Other Outcomes (1)

• Qualitative Evaluation of Acceptability.

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 8 weeks

Study Arms (4)

Attention Training Baseline Start

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will begin ABM at the start of the study.

Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification

Attention Training Week 1 Start

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will begin ABM 1 week after the start of the study.

Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification

Attention Training Week 2 Start

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will begin ABM 2 weeks after the start of the study.

Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification

Attention Training Week 3 Start

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will begin ABM 3 weeks after the start of the study.

Behavioral: Attention Bias Modification

Interventions

Attention Bias Modification BEHAVIORAL

Attention training involves 80 training trials. The task uses words developed specifically for this study with fear words such as "crash" and "car" and neutral words such as "couch" and "can" that are balanced for length and frequency. Additionally, on every trial the location of the probe is the same as the location of the fear word. Participants press the button corresponding to the direction of the probe. The training takes approximately 5 minutes to complete.

Attention Training Baseline Start; Attention Training Week 1 Start; Attention Training Week 2 Start; Attention Training Week 3 Start

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age 18 or older
• Employed as an Active First Responder
• iPhone mobile device
• Located in a rural part of the US

You may not qualify if:

• \- Works less than 20 hours/week on average

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Palo Alto University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Palo Alto University

Palo Alto, California, 94304, United States

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 19, 2025
• First Posted: November 25, 2025
• Study Start: November 15, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Last Updated: December 5, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: IPD and supporting information will be available at the time of publication of related findings/outcomes.

Locations

US (1)