Research & Development

BlueSun, Inc. is a privately held research-based company that develops behavioral health products and services designed to empower individuals to improve their well-being. Using the tenets of social cognitive theory to guide its work, the multi-disciplinary team of researchers at BlueSun, Inc. and at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs has been developing web-based trauma recovery programs using scientifically driven principles to develop and enhance the technology.

BlueSun, Inc. is committed to the scientific evaluation of our products. BlueSun, Inc. has been funded for the past 4 years from the National Institute of Mental Health. The following two papers were recently published that might be of interest.

My Disaster Recovery: a pilot randomized controlled trial of an Internet intervention

Abstract

This pilot study tested the efficacy of the My Disaster Recovery (MDR) website to decrease negative affect and increase coping self-efficacy. Fifty-six survivors of Hurricane Ike were recruited from a larger study being conducted at the University of Texas Medical Branch at the first anniversary of the storm. Restricted randomization was used to assign participants to the MDR website, an information-only website, or a usual care condition. Group×time interactions indicated that MDR reduced participant worry more than the other conditions. A similar trend was also identified for depression. Both websites were accessed a small to moderate amount and participants reported mixed satisfaction for both websites. Although the effect sizes for worry and depression were in the moderate to large range, small sample size and timing of the intervention qualify the findings. These preliminary findings encourage further evaluation of MDR with a larger, demographically diverse sample and indicate that the MDR website might be helpful in reducing worry and depression.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10615806.2011.604869

Internet interventions for traumatic stress: A review and theoretically based example

Abstract

Trauma recovery Web sites are proliferating with limited supportive evidence for effectiveness. In this article, the authors review the current very early studies on trauma recovery Web sites highlighting the different approaches, the empirical support provided, and the critical development issues facing this exciting frontier. An example site based on social cognitive theory is also reviewed.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jts.20371/abstract