TY - JOUR AU - Johansson, Peter AU - Lundgren, Johan AU - Andersson, Gerhard AU - Svensson, Erland AU - Mourad, Ghassan PY - 2022 DA - 2022/6/3 TI - Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and its Association With Self-efficacy, Depressive Symptoms, and Physical Activity: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease JO - JMIR Cardio SP - e29926 VL - 6 IS - 1 KW - internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy KW - cardiovascular disease KW - depression KW - self-efficacy KW - physical activity KW - mental health KW - digital health KW - online health KW - digital therapy KW - cognition KW - self-care KW - CVD KW - internet-based KW - cardiology KW - heart disease KW - cardiac health KW - cognitive behavioral therapy AB - Background: In patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD), knowledge about the associations among changes in depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, and self-care activities has been requested. This is because such knowledge can be helpful in the design of behavioral interventions aimed to improve self-efficacy, reduce depressive symptoms, and improve performance of self-care activities in CVD patients. Objective: We aim to evaluate if internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) improves self-efficacy and explore the relationships among changes in depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, and physical activity, as well as the influence of iCBT on these relationships. Methods: This study received funding in January 2015. Participant recruitment took place between January 2017 and February 2018, and the main findings were published in 2019. This study is a secondary analysis of data collected in a randomized controlled study evaluating the effects of a 9-week iCBT program compared to an online discussion forum (ODF) on depressive symptoms in patients with CVD (N=144). Data were collected at baseline and at the 9-week follow-up. Analysis of covariance was used to evaluate the differences in self-efficacy between the iCBT and ODF groups. Structural equation modeling explored the relationships among changes in depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, and physical activity, as well as the influence of iCBT on these relationships. Results: At follow-up, a significant difference in the increase in self-efficacy favoring iCBT was found (P=.04, Cohen d=0.27). We found an indirect association between changes in depressive symptoms and physical activity (β=–.24, P<.01), with the change in self-efficacy acting as a mediator. iCBT had a direct effect on the changes in depressive symptoms, which in turn influenced the changes in self-efficacy (β=.23, P<.001) and physical activity (β=.12, P<.001). Conclusions: Self-efficacy was improved by iCBT. However, the influence of iCBT on self-efficacy and physical activity was mostly mediated by improvements in depressive symptoms. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02778074; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02778074 SN - 2561-1011 UR - https://cardio.jmir.org/2022/1/e29926 UR - https://doi.org/10.2196/29926 UR - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35657674 DO - 10.2196/29926 ID - info:doi/10.2196/29926 ER -