# Clinician-Supported Mobile App to Reduce Mental Health Symptoms Among World Trade Center Responders in Florida.

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $349,942

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The World Trade Center (WTC) General Responders (GRs) carry a significant mental health
(MH) burden from the exposure to intense psychological trauma after the WTC collapse. PTSD
and depression are two of the top ten certifiable mental health conditions that the 9/11 GRs are
burdened with. Members of the WTC Health Program (WTCHP), including GRs, FDNY and
Survivors, have increasingly moved to Florida representing close to six percent of the cohort.
They are away from the NY Metropolitan Area WTCHP, creating a need for localized, accessible
care. Additionally, preliminary findings from our ongoing pilot study on the WTCHP GRs residing
in Florida, indicate a large majority of the participants identify as Latinx, creating a need to
provide accessible services in the language of their choice, addressing health equity. The
findings also indicate that the majority prefer individual care and prefer, or are open to, remotely-
delivered services. While many studies have identified the MH burden that the responders carry,
there have been no controlled studies of psychosocial interventions to reduce PTSD,
depression, anxiety, and sleep symptoms among multiethnic GRs. There is a critical need for
developing or testing interventions appropriate for the GRs.
Preliminary evidence suggests that remotely-delivered and clinician-supported interventions can
reduce adverse MH symptoms as part of low-cost approaches with scalability potential in adults
with significant MH conditions. The goal of this proposed U01 2-year study from Principal
Investigators at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), is to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and
efficacy of Clinician-Supported PTSD Coach, originally developed for English speaking military
veterans but never tested with responders, for reducing symptoms of PTSD, depression,
anxiety, and sleep disturbance among English and Spanish speaking WTC GRs. PTSD Coach
is a mobile app available at no cost for Apple and Android mobile devices. PTSD Coach is a
self-managed (SM) application but given the need for more personalized, synchronous, and
attentive services, the clinician-supported (CS) PTSD Coach intervention was developed.
Studies of CS PTSD Coach with English-speaking veterans, reported reductions in PTSD
symptoms. Collectively, these preliminary data suggest CS PTSD Coach is a promising
intervention for the GRs in Florida. Findings from this study with a known cohort in Florida will
inform the deployment of an expanded trial nationally on CS PTSD Coach with WTC GRs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10994917
- **Project number:** 1U01OH012773-01
- **Recipient organization:** FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Roberto G Lucchini
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $349,942
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10994917

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10994917, Clinician-Supported Mobile App to Reduce Mental Health Symptoms Among World Trade Center Responders in Florida. (1U01OH012773-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10994917. Licensed CC0.

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