Coherence Training for Military Personnel
1 other identifier
interventional
192
1 country
1
Brief Summary
Military operations and training situations present many physical and psychological challenges for service members to adapt to and overcome. The challenges of these changing conditions necessitate having to cope with stress, which is seen as the negative perceptions, feelings, and emotions that manifest from the subjective physical and/or mental strain on life processes. In addition, service members are returning from deployments having gone through traumatic experiences that can develop into posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression or other serious conditions. The Surface Warfare Independent Duty Corpsman (IDC) School is an example of a training environment where some students may be entering the program with symptoms of PTSD, which may preclude or make it more difficult for them to perform well. Autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysregulation has been observed in patients with PTSD and those experiencing chronic stress, such that there is more arousing, sympathetic input to the heart than calming, parasympathetic input, which is usually the dominant division of the ANS involved in controlling one's heart rate. The IDC training program is an example of an environment where the service member is expected to excel while being subjected to multiple sources of stress. The fast tempo coupled with performance expectations may induce stress and actually inhibit learning. The Institute of HeartMath has developed the Coherence Advantage program which teaches one to self-regulate their emotions while focusing on breathing to compliment the active process of self-regulation. In conjunction, the emWave Personal Stress Reliever allows the user to receive heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback, hence giving the user the opportunity to self-regulate their ANS through breathing and self-regulation techniques. The proposed study will test the effectiveness of the Coherence Advantage program versus progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) in reducing stress symptomatology among Surface Warfare IDC students. The effectiveness of these two different interventions will be compared on outcomes of PTSD, depression, anxiety, sleep quality, perceived stress, attrition, and class performance.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Apr 2012
Typical duration for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
April 1, 2012
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
May 7, 2012
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
May 16, 2012
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
September 1, 2014
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
September 1, 2014
CompletedAugust 19, 2016
August 1, 2016
2.4 years
May 7, 2012
August 17, 2016
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Stress symptomatology
The effectiveness of the two stress intervention trainings will be evaluated on symptoms of depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety, perceived stress, and sleep quality.
12 months
Secondary Outcomes (2)
School performance
12 months
Attrition
12 months
Study Arms (2)
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
ACTIVE COMPARATORA stress intervention where subjects will learn to regulate stress based on the tensing and releasing of the major muscle groups in the body, accompanied with relaxed breathing techniques.
Coherence Advantage
ACTIVE COMPARATORA stress intervention where subjects will learn to regulate stress by focusing on breathing and mindfulness techniques while recognizing physiological coherence by way of a portable biofeedback device.
Interventions
Participants will be instructed to practice the techniques twice daily for 5-15 minutes per session, and subsequently use the techniques when confronted with a stressful event such as a project deadline, exam, skill evaluation, etc. Participants in this condition will listen to PMR instruction by way of a mp3 player.
Participants will be instructed to practice the techniques twice daily for 5-15 minutes per session, and subsequently use the techniques when confronted with a stressful event such as a project deadline, exam, skill evaluation, etc. Participants in this condition will practice the techniques while using a biofeedback device to recognize when they enter psychophysiological coherence.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Sailors
- Enrolled as students in the Surface Warfare Medicine Institute's Independent Duty Corpsman School
You may not qualify if:
- Administratively rolled over into another class
- Dropped out of the school (due to academic or medical reasons)
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Surface Warfare Medicine Institute
San Diego, California, 92134, United States
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Interventions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Scott L Johnston, PhD
U.S. Navy, Medical Service Corps, Naval Center for Combat & Operational Stress Control (NCCOSC)
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- NON RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Purpose
- TREATMENT
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- FED
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
May 7, 2012
First Posted
May 16, 2012
Study Start
April 1, 2012
Primary Completion
September 1, 2014
Study Completion
September 1, 2014
Last Updated
August 19, 2016
Record last verified: 2016-08
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share