Enhancing Veteran-Clinical Collaboration in VA PRRCs
EVCC VPRRC
2 other identifiers
interventional
119
1 country
3
Brief Summary
Over 60% of Veterans with serious mental illness have a service-connected disability that impairs their ability to work, go to school, and/or have successful personal lives. Although traditional treatments tend to focus on symptom remission, Veterans prioritize a range of treatment goals, including personal empowerment and gaining personally meaningful skills. Increasing Veteran-clinician collaboration can help effectively align care with each Veteran's goals and support an empowering therapeutic experience. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of a group-based intervention intended to increase Veterans' comfort, confidence, knowledge, and skills to collaborate with their treatment teams. Findings from this study will contribute important knowledge about this intervention's effectiveness and how to enhance its effectiveness, especially for Veterans from minoritized groups. If the decision-making intervention is effective, it would help Veterans with serious mental illness, and might also help Veterans with other chronic health conditions, like PTSD and chronic pain.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable schizophrenia
Started Jul 2026
Typical duration for not_applicable schizophrenia
3 active sites
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
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
March 12, 2025
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
March 27, 2025
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
July 1, 2026
ExpectedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
April 3, 2028
Study Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
September 30, 2029
April 15, 2026
April 1, 2026
1.8 years
March 12, 2025
April 14, 2026
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (4)
Shared Decision-Making Coding System
The Shared Decision-Making Coding System (SDM-CS) is a validated method of coding collaborative behaviors during treatment decision-making among patients with SMI and their providers. The SDM-CDS codes 9 elements of the decision process including goal setting, exploration of patient preference, and treatment alternatives. Coding for this measure is completed by recording frequency of specific interactions (e.g., the patient states a preference). Scores range from 0-18, where higher scores are better (indicating more collaborative behaviors).
Baseline to 3-month follow-up
Shared Decision-Making Coding System
The Shared Decision-Making Coding System (SDM-CS) is a validated method of coding collaborative behaviors during treatment decision-making among patients with SMI and their providers. The SDM-CDS codes 9 elements of the decision process including goal setting, exploration of patient preference, and treatment alternatives. Coding for this measure is completed by recording frequency of specific interactions (e.g., the patient states a preference). Scores range from 0-18, where higher scores are better (indicating more collaborative behaviors).
Baseline to 6-month follow-up
Consumer-Created Opportunities for Active Involvement Coding System
A validated measure for adults with SMI that codes presence of consumer driven collaborative behaviors, including sharing opinions about treatment effectiveness, making requests, and reflecting on the therapeutic relationship. This measure codes behaviors, so the minimum score is 0, and it has no maximum. Higher scores indicate more collaborative behaviors initiated by the consumer.
Baseline to 3-month follow-up
Consumer-Created Opportunities for Active Involvement Coding System
A validated measure for adults with SMI that codes presence of consumer driven collaborative behaviors, including sharing opinions about treatment effectiveness, making requests, and reflecting on the therapeutic relationship. This measure codes behaviors, so the minimum score is 0, and it has no maximum. Higher scores indicate more collaborative behaviors initiated by the consumer.
Baseline to 6-month follow-up
Secondary Outcomes (26)
Singh O'Brien Level of Engagement Scale
Baseline to 3-month follow-up
Singh O'Brien Level of Engagement Scale
Baseline to 6-month follow-up
Client Satisfaction Questionnaire
Baseline to 3-month follow-up
Client Satisfaction Questionnaire
Baseline to 6-month follow-up
Canadian Occupational Performance Measure- Performance subscale
Baseline to 3-month follow-up
- +21 more secondary outcomes
Other Outcomes (11)
Scale to Assess Therapeutic Relationship (patient and clinician versions)
Baseline to 3-month follow-up
Scale to Assess Therapeutic Relationship (patient and clinician versions)
Baseline to 6-month follow-up
Maslach Burnout Inventory
Every three months for 2.5 year clinical trial duration
- +8 more other outcomes
Study Arms (2)
Collaborative Decision Skills Training
EXPERIMENTALCollaborative Decision Skills Training (CDST) is the intervention group (experimental arm).
Leveling Up
ACTIVE COMPARATORLeveling Up is the active control arm.
Interventions
An ten-session group-based skills training intervention that focuses on treatment-related decision-making in order to facilitate improved engagement in decision-making processes. CDST teaches assertiveness skills, problem solving, goal planning, and conflict negotiation, within the context of treatment planning and decision-making. Each session is 60 minutes long.
An ten-session group intervention that focuses on psychoeducation, befriending, and Veteran to Veteran support. Each session is 60 minutes long.
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- be a Veteran currently receiving PRRC, MHICM and/or BHIP services at VA San Diego, Los Angeles, or Albuquerque (e.g., seen in the clinic in the past month or based on clinic criteria)
- meet SAMHSA criteria of serious mental illness; i.e., "having (within the past year) a diagnosable mental, behavior, or emotional disorder that causes serious functional impairment that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities," based on chart review and clinician consultation if needed
- Be age 18 or above
- Be fluent and literate in English.
- Agree to have a subset of VA mental health treatment appointments audiotaped
You may not qualify if:
- primary substance use or organic neurological disorder diagnosis determined by chart review
- are determined by clinician and/or study staff to be at significant risk of exacerbation of symptoms, suicidal ideation, or other risk due to study participation
- have a history and/or current risk of violence that clinicians and/or study staff determine to be too high risk to manage effectively in the study setting (e.g., poses a risk to Veterans or study staff).
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (3)
VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
San Diego, California, 92161-0002, United States
VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, West Los Angeles, CA
West Los Angeles, California, 90073-1003, United States
New Mexico VA Health Care System, Albuquerque, NM
Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87108-5153, United States
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Emily Treichler, PhD
VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- SINGLE
- Who Masked
- OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Masking Details
- The research assistants who completes the assessments will be blind to condition, and will not attend any clinical team meetings or otherwise participate in any non-study related PRRC activities to maintain blindness. No study participants will be blinded. No other staff will be blinded.
- Purpose
- TREATMENT
- Intervention Model
- PARALLEL
- Sponsor Type
- FED
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
March 12, 2025
First Posted
March 27, 2025
Study Start (Estimated)
July 1, 2026
Primary Completion (Estimated)
April 3, 2028
Study Completion (Estimated)
September 30, 2029
Last Updated
April 15, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-04
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will share
- Shared Documents
- STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, ANALYTIC CODE
- Time Frame
- IPD will be available six months after publication, and remain available for five years.
- Access Criteria
- Data will be shared with researchers and consumer advocates who provide a rationale and methodological sound plan for their use of the data. Acceptable uses include meta-analysis and mega-analysis, among other uses. Data sets provided to requesters will include data necessary for the requester's stated purpose, as long as the requester's purpose does not violate participant privacy, research ethics, or similar procedures. Requests for access must be made in writing including an explicit assurance that the recipient will not attempt to identify or re-identify any individual. Requests must be signed by a requester currently residing in the United States. The request must reference the publication or other source motivating the request along with the detailed purpose for the request. Requests should be made to the corresponding author or the principal investigator, but can be made to the Associate Chief of Staff for Research.
IPD underlying results in a publication will be shared. Deidentified data sets will be used for analysis and only these de-identified sets will be shared. All HIPAA identifiers, combinations of variables that might be used for re-identification, and proprietary information will be excluded. Audio data will not be shared; de-identified transcriptions and coding based on audio data will be. Only data needed to fulfill a requester's stated purpose will be shared. Therefore this plan will protect personal privacy of research subjects, prevent loss of confidentiality, and ensure the secure maintenance of propriety data and information.