Reintegration: The Role of Spouse Telephone BATTLEMIND Pilot Study

NCT00870545 | Completed Results

• 1 other identifier: PT074804
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 86
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This study will expand the Department of Defense (DoD) one time, face-to-face post deployment BATTLEMIND training for spouses of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Guard/Reserve service members into year-long, telephone groups focusing on education, skills building and support. The goal is to build spouses' resilience to cope with reintegration, help them serve as a support system for returning service members, and ease the transition for families post-deployment.

Conditions

Military Spouses; Support Groups; Stress Disorders; Combat Disorders

Keywords

spouses; social support; reintegration; families; military; post deployment; OEF/OIF

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Spouse Self-report of Depression

  Depression measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 at baseline, six and 12 months. Scores range from 0-27 with lower scores indicating less depressive symptoms.

  Baseline, 6 months, and 12 months

• Anxiety

  Anxiety measured with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder -7 (GAD-7)measured at baseline, six and 12 months. Scores range from 0-21, with lower scores indicating fewer anxiety symptoms.

  baseline, 6 months and 12 months

• Quality of Marriage

  Measure of marriage quality using Quality Marriage Index at baseline, six and 12 months. Scores range from 6-45 with higher scores indicating better quality of marriage.

  Baseline, 6 and 12 months

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Family Coping

  Baseline, 6 months and 12 months

• Spouse Social Support

  baseline, 6 months, and 12 months

• Family Communication

  baseline, 6 months, and 12 months

Study Arms (1)

Telephone support

EXPERIMENTAL

12 telephone support group sessions based on the letters of the word BATTLEMIND

Behavioral: Telephone support groups

Interventions

Telephone support groups BEHAVIORAL

There was one intervention. Participants were enrolled in one of 14 telephone groups (each with a trained Group Leader and 6 participants) will focus on education, training in and practice of coping skills and cognitive restructuring (identifying and re-shaping negative and destructive thoughts), and support through 12 hour-long structured sessions. The content, modeled on Soldier BATTLEMIND, targets readjustment concepts based on the letters of BATTLEMIND, including Bonds, Adding and subtracting family roles, Taking control, Talking it out, Loyalty and commitment, Emotional balance, Mental health and readiness, Independence and interdependence, Navigating the system, Denial of self and a concluding session entitled Moving forward.

Telephone support

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• have a spouse who participated in OEF/OIF and is at least 1 month post-deployment;
• if not married, must have lived as married for at least one year;
• live with the service member when not deployed;
• have been a spouse/significant other throughout the service member's deployment period;
• and have a telephone.

You may not qualify if:

• current diagnosis of schizophrenia or other major mental illness;
• auditory impairment that would make telephone use difficult; or
• service member refusal of assent for spouse to participate.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Memphis VA Medical Center: lead
• United States Department of Defense: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Memphis VA Medical Center

Memphis, Tennessee, 38104, United States

Location

Related Links

• Information and contacts

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Combat Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Mental Disorders

Limitations and Caveats

Small sample size, some of the Wounded Warrior Project spouses knew each other, pilot feasibility study and not a randomized controlled trial.

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dr. Linda Nichols
• Organization: Memphis VAMC

linda.nichols@va.gov

901 523-8990

Study Officials

• Linda O Nichols, PhD

  Memphis VA Medical Center

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: FED
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Healthcare Education Specialist/Health Services Researcher

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 25, 2009
• First Posted: March 27, 2009
• Study Start: September 1, 2009
• Primary Completion: July 1, 2011
• Study Completion: November 1, 2011
• Last Updated: June 28, 2017
• Results First Posted: June 4, 2013

Record last verified: 2017-06

Locations

US (1)