Telephone Support During Overseas Deployment for Military Spouses

NCT01828983 | Completed Results

• 1 other identifier: W81XWH-11-2-0087
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 161
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Deployment impacts both service member and family, and the cost can be high. Spouses' reactions to deployment may include emotional distress, loneliness, anticipatory fear or grief, somatic complaints, and depression. The goal is to help spouses learn ways to manage stress and solve problems related to deployment and reintegration, communication, managing long distance relationships, and other common problems. The study will compare telephone support groups to online education sessions. The study will enroll 160 spouses. In the Telephone Support groups, a group leader and participants will meet 12 times over six months to focus on education, skills building and support. Education Only online sessions will provide the same education content, without skills building or support. Content includes strategies to reduce or eliminate communication difficulties during deployment, how to find help; practical concerns during deployment; fostering resilience and decreasing stress; fostering relationships while apart, negotiating roles and relationships; changes during deployment; strategies to support the spouse and the service member; and cues to alert spouses when to seek mental health services for the family or themselves. Outcomes will include resilience, depression, anxiety and coping behaviors. Telephone data collection will be conducted at baseline, six and twelve months.

Conditions

Military Personnel; Family Members; Resilience, Psychological; Deployment

Keywords

Telephone; Support groups; Social support; Depression

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Spouse Self-report of Resilience

  Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Scores range from 0-100. Higher scores equal greater resilience.

  Baseline, 6 months

• Spouse Self Report of Anxiety

  Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Scores range from 0 to 21; higher scores equal more anxiety.

  baseline, and 6 months

• Spouse Self Report of Depression

  Patient Health Questionnaire - Depression (PHQ)-9 measured at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Scores range from 0-27 with higher scores indicating more depressive symptoms.

  Baseline, 6 months

Study Arms (2)

Telephone support groups

EXPERIMENTAL

Telephone support groups, each with participants and a trained group leader. Each hour-long telephone group will meet bi-monthly for six months for a total of 12 meetings. Groups are structured with education, skills building, and support. Participants will receive and use a Spouse Workbook with information and activities.

Behavioral: Telephone support groups

Education webinars

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Education Webinar session topics are the same that are covered in the intervention arm without telephone interaction/support and skills building components. Each session is 30-minutes. Each participant receives a Spouse Workbook with information and activities.

Other: Education webinars

Interventions

Telephone support groups BEHAVIORAL

Telephone support groups

Education webinars OTHER

Education webinars

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• spouse or significant other (living as married for at least one year before deployment) of an overseas deployed military service member
• deployed at least six months

You may not qualify if:

• living as married for at least one year before deployment

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

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Depression

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Limitations and Caveats

There was no control arm where participants received no services. Participants were at various stages of the deployment process. Lack of participation in the intervention was a study limitation.

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dr. Linda Nichols
• Organization: Memphis VA Medical Center

linda.nichols@va.gov

901 523-8990

Study Officials

• Linda O Nichols, PhD

  Memphis VA Medical Center and University of Tennessee Health Science Center

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Jennifer L Martindale-Adams, EdD

  University of Tennessee Health Science Center and 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: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: FED
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Healthcare education specialist/Health Services Researcher

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: April 4, 2013
• First Posted: April 11, 2013
• Study Start: April 1, 2011
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2014
• Study Completion: June 1, 2015
• Last Updated: November 24, 2017
• Results First Posted: October 23, 2017

Record last verified: 2017-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)