Helping Families Help Veterans With PTSD and Alcohol Abuse: An RCT of VA-CRAFT
1 other identifier
interventional
66
1 country
1
Brief Summary
This project begins to evaluate the effectiveness of a web-based family outreach tool that is designed to promote treatment engagement among Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or alcohol use disorders (AUDs) but who have not yet engaged in mental health care. The National Center for PTSD has developed an on-line, Veteran-tailored, interactive web tool called VA - Community Reinforcement and Family Training (VA-CRAFT) that trains family members to effectively help their Veterans to engage in treatment for PTSD and/or AUDs. This project will provide preliminary information about VA-CRAFT's effectiveness.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable
Started May 2013
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
Click on a node to explore related trials.
Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
August 29, 2012
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
September 3, 2012
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
May 1, 2013
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
December 1, 2014
CompletedResults Posted
Study results publicly available
February 24, 2016
CompletedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
April 1, 2016
CompletedOctober 25, 2016
September 1, 2016
1.6 years
August 29, 2012
January 27, 2016
September 14, 2016
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Veteran Engagement in VA Mental Health Services
Administrative data on mental health service utilization for Veterans will be compared for those whose family members receive the intervention (VA-CRAFT) and those who do not.
3 months after initiation of the intervention
Secondary Outcomes (3)
Family Member Psychosocial Wellbeing: Brief Symptom Inventory - 18
3 months after initiation of the intervention
Family Functioning
3 months after the initiation of the intervention
Caregiver Burden
3 months post-randomization
Study Arms (2)
VA-CRAFT
EXPERIMENTALFamily participants complete an on-line training course (VA-CRAFT) over a 3 month period
Control
PLACEBO COMPARATORParticipants will have the opportunity to complete the VA-CRAFT training program after 3 months; otherwise no intervention
Interventions
VA-CRAFT is an on-line training program that teaches family members how to communicate and interact with Veterans to promote their engagement in needed mental health services for PTSD or Alcohol Use Disorders. 12 on-line sessions.
Participants will have the opportunity to complete the VA-CRAFT training program after 3 months; otherwise no intervention
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Family participants:
- must have participated in a Readiness and Resilience in National Guards Soldiers - (RINGS) study and be a spouse, partner, or family member of a Veteran who has also participated in a RINGS study
- report frequent contact with the Veteran
- be paired with a Veteran who has not received mental health services at VA or in the community for the past 3 months and who has screened positive for PTSD or AUDs
- and have regular access to the internet.
- Veteran participants:
- must have participated in a RINGS study
- be in significant contact with a spouse/partner/family member who has enrolled in this protocol
- screened positive for PTSD and/or AUD through their responses to a RINGS survey
- and have not received mental health care (based on VA administrative data) or in the community for the past 3 months
You may not qualify if:
- Family members (and thus Veterans) will not be eligible for the study if they or their Veteran have reported severe levels of interpersonal violence in their relationship in the past 3 months.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55417, United States
Related Publications (10)
Tran T, Kuhn ER, Walser R, Drescher K. The relationship between religiosity, PTSD, and depressive symptoms in veterans in PTSD residential treatment. Journal of psychology and theology. 2012 Oct 1; 40(Winter 2012):313-322.
BACKGROUNDKuhn ER, Landes S. Mental and Behavioral Health Apps for Service Members, Veterans, and Providers. Society for Media Psychology & Technology: The Amplifier. 2013 Apr 1; Spring/Summer(2013):8-10.
BACKGROUNDReger GM, Hoffman J, Riggs D, Rothbaum BO, Ruzek J, Holloway KM, Kuhn E. The "PE coach" smartphone application: an innovative approach to improving implementation, fidelity, and homework adherence during prolonged exposure. Psychol Serv. 2013 Aug;10(3):342-349. doi: 10.1037/a0032774.
PMID: 23937084RESULTErbes CR, Stinson R, Kuhn E, Polusny M, Urban J, Hoffman J, Ruzek JI, Stepnowsky C, Thorp SR. Access, utilization, and interest in mHealth applications among veterans receiving outpatient care for PTSD. Mil Med. 2014 Nov;179(11):1218-22. doi: 10.7205/MILMED-D-14-00014.
PMID: 25373044RESULTKuhn E, Greene C, Hoffman J, Nguyen T, Wald L, Schmidt J, Ramsey KM, Ruzek J. Preliminary evaluation of PTSD Coach, a smartphone app for post-traumatic stress symptoms. Mil Med. 2014 Jan;179(1):12-8. doi: 10.7205/MILMED-D-13-00271.
PMID: 24402979RESULTKuhn E, Eftekhari A, Hoffman JE, Crowley JJ, Ramsey KM, Reger GM, Ruzek JI. Clinician perceptions of using a smartphone app with prolonged exposure therapy. Adm Policy Ment Health. 2014 Nov;41(6):800-7. doi: 10.1007/s10488-013-0532-2.
PMID: 24398700RESULTRuzek JI, Eftekhari A, Rosen CS, Crowley JJ, Kuhn E, Foa EB, Hembree EA, Karlin BE. Factors related to clinician attitudes toward prolonged exposure therapy for PTSD. J Trauma Stress. 2014 Aug;27(4):423-9. doi: 10.1002/jts.21945.
PMID: 25158635RESULTWhealin JM, Kuhn E, Pietrzak RH. Applying behavior change theory to technology promoting veteran mental health care seeking. Psychol Serv. 2014 Nov;11(4):486-94. doi: 10.1037/a0037232.
PMID: 25384001RESULTOwen JE, Jaworski BK, Kuhn E, Makin-Byrd KN, Ramsey KM, Hoffman JE. mHealth in the Wild: Using Novel Data to Examine the Reach, Use, and Impact of PTSD Coach. JMIR Ment Health. 2015 Mar 25;2(1):e7. doi: 10.2196/mental.3935. eCollection 2015 Jan-Mar.
PMID: 26543913RESULTWilliams EC, Gupta S, Rubinsky AD, Jones-Webb R, Bensley KM, Young JP, Hagedorn H, Gifford E, Harris AH. Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Prevalence of Clinically Recognized Alcohol Use Disorders Among Patients from the U.S. Veterans Health Administration. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2016 Feb;40(2):359-66. doi: 10.1111/acer.12950.
PMID: 26842254RESULT
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Results Point of Contact
- Title
- Christopher Erbes, PhD
- Organization
- Minneapolis VA Healthcare Service Center
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Christopher R. Erbes, PhD
Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN
Publication Agreements
- PI is Sponsor Employee
- No
- Restrictive Agreement
- No
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- NONE
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- FED
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
August 29, 2012
First Posted
September 3, 2012
Study Start
May 1, 2013
Primary Completion
December 1, 2014
Study Completion
April 1, 2016
Last Updated
October 25, 2016
Results First Posted
February 24, 2016
Record last verified: 2016-09
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share