COPEWeb Training for Providers

NCT05812131 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: IIR 21-005
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 248
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

PTSD and substance use disorders (SUD) are two of the most common and debilitating mental health conditions afflicting military Veterans. PTSD and SUD frequently co-occur and are associated with poorer treatment outcomes. The investigators' team developed a trauma-focused intervention, Concurrent Treatment of PTSD and Substance Use Disorders Using Prolonged Exposure (COPE), which is identified by the VA as a gold standard of behavioral healthcare and was designated as a first-line treatment in the 2025 APA Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD. However, a critical barrier to ensuring that Veterans with co-occurring PTSD/SUD receive evidence-based treatment is a lack of provider training. This project directly addresses this critical gap by developing a new web-based training program for providers (COPEWeb).

Conditions

PTSD; Substance Use Disorders

Keywords

PTSD; substance use disorders; training; providers

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• IBM Computer Usability Satisfaction Questionnaires (CSUQ)

  The CSUQ is a 19-item Likert-type (7-point \[strongly agree to strongly disagree\]) questionnaire that provides an overall usability satisfaction score along with subscales that measure program usefulness, information quality, and interface quality. The CSUQ measure and subscales have good reliability, sensitivity, and validity.

  Through study completion, an average of 8 weeks

• COPE Knowledge Acquisition Test (CKAT)

  The CKAT will be completed at pre- and post-training. The 20-item measure will be scored and the percent of items answered correctly (rated from 0 to 100% correct) will be assessed. Higher scores represent greater knowledge.

  Change from baseline to study completion, an average of 8 weeks

Study Arms (2)

COPEWEb

EXPERIMENTAL

online COPEWeb training

Behavioral: COPEWeb online training

COPE In person

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

COPE training delivered in person

Behavioral: COPE In Person

Interventions

COPEWeb online training BEHAVIORAL

COPE training delivered via online COPEWEb to providers

COPEWEb

COPE In Person BEHAVIORAL

COPE training provided in person to providers

COPE In person

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• currently a provider in a behavioral health field (e.g., psychology, psychiatry, counseling)
• at least 18 years old
• English speaking
• able to consistently obtain reliable internet access
• willing to attend a 2-day "live" in-person (or virtual) COPE training if randomly assigned to that condition
• willing to engage in a standardized patient assessment after training
• has no prior formal training in the COPE therapy

You may not qualify if:

• received prior training in COPE
• not a provider in the behavioral health field
• non-English speaking
• lack of reliable internet access
• younger than 18 years old

Sponsors & Collaborators

• VA Office of Research and Development: lead
• Medical University of South Carolina: collaborator
• National Center for PTSD: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, Charleston, SC

Charleston, South Carolina, 29401-5703, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Substance-Related Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Mental Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders

Study Officials

• Sudie E. Back, PhD

  Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, Charleston, SC

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Sudie E Back, PhD

CONTACT

(843) 792-9383; Sudie.Back@va.gov

Stacey S Sellers, MS

CONTACT

(843) 789-6703; Stacey.Sellers@va.gov

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: FACTORIAL
• Sponsor Type: FED
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Providers will be randomly assigned to COPEWeb online training or in-person COPE training

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 13, 2023
• First Posted: April 13, 2023
• Study Start: May 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 5, 2027
• Last Updated: August 11, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-08

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)