Citation

Schwartz RM, Shaam P, Williams MS, McCann-Pineo M, Ryniker L, Debnath S, Zanos TP. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022; 19(8): e4847.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph19084847

PMID

35457714

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains one of the most prevalent diagnoses of World Trade Center (WTC) 9/11 responders. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a potential treatment for PTSD, as it can downregulate activity in the brain, which is known to be related to stress responses and hyperarousal. To understand barriers and facilitators to engagement in mental health care and the feasibility and acceptability of using the taVNS device as a treatment for PTSD symptoms, a focus group was conducted among patients from the Queens WTC Health Program who had elevated symptoms of PTSD. The focus group discussion was recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. Three themes and subthemes emerged: (1) the continued prevalence of mental health difficulties and systematic challenges to accessing care; (2) positive reception toward the taVNS device as a potential treatment option, including a discussion of how to increase usability; and (3) feedback on increasing the feasibility and acceptance of the research methodology associated with testing the device in a pilot clinical trial. The findings highlight the need for additional treatment options to reduce PTSD symptoms in this population and provide key formative phase input for the pilot clinical trial of taVNS.

Language: en

Keywords

PTSD; posttraumatic stress disorder; 9/11; first responders; focus group; taVNS; vagus nerve stimulation; world trade center