Supporting Older Adults Remotely

NCT07878169 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 2 other identifiers: 02001430R56MH138734
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The Supporting Older Adults Remotely (SOAR) study is a randomized controlled trial evaluating a 12-week, telephone-delivered peer support intervention for adults age 50 and older with serious mental illness who live in supportive housing. SOAR is designed to support aging in place and improve independent living skills through structured peer support focused on medication adherence, medical and psychiatric self-management, coping, goal setting, healthcare navigation, social relationships, self-advocacy, and connection to community resources. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either SOAR or Peer Support as Usual. Participants will complete assessments at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months. The study will also examine factors that may help or hinder implementation and sustainability of SOAR in supportive housing.

Conditions

Severe Mental Illness

Keywords

peer support; aging in place; SMI; severe mental illness; telephonic intervention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Independent Living Skills Survey (ILSS) Score

  Independent living skills will be measured using the Independent Living Skills Survey (ILSS), a measure of community functioning and independent living skills among individuals with serious mental illness. The study will evaluate differences in ILSS scores between participants assigned to SOAR and Peer Support as Usual over time. Scores range from 0 to 70 for the standard self-report version, with higher scores indicating better independent living skills and functioning.

  Baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Medical self-management

  Baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months

• Psychiatric self-management

  baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months

• Medication adherence

  baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months

Study Arms (2)

SOAR

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive SOAR, a structured, manualized 12-week, one-on-one peer support intervention delivered by telephone. SOAR is delivered by Certified Older Adult Peer Specialists and incorporates evidence-based aging-in-place strategies and peer lived experience. The intervention focuses on medication management, medical and psychiatric self-management, psychoeducation, coping, goal setting and values clarification, healthcare navigation, social relationships, self-advocacy, and connection to community resources. Participants may use a landline, flip phone, or smartphone; an app is not required. Participants complete study assessments at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months.

Behavioral: Supporting Older Adults Remotely (SOAR)

Peer Support As Usual

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants receive Peer Support as Usual, consisting of 12 weekly peer support meetings delivered by telephone. Peer Support as Usual is provided by Certified Older Adult Peer Specialists who have foundational peer support training and do not receive SOAR training. Sessions do not require a structured agenda and include routine peer support services such as action planning, person-centered support, communication, recovery support, advocacy, and trauma-informed peer support. Participants have up to 5 months to complete the 12 sessions. Participants complete study assessments at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months.

Behavioral: Peer support as usual

Interventions

Peer support as usual BEHAVIORAL

Peer Support as Usual consists of 12 weekly peer support meetings delivered by telephone by Certified Older Adult Peer Specialists. The intervention does not require a structured agenda and provides routine peer support services. Peer Specialists are already trained in foundational peer support, including action planning for prevention and recovery, person-centered service planning, communication skills, human and patient rights, recovery, advocacy, and trauma-informed peer support. Participants have up to 5 months to complete the 12 sessions.

Peer Support As Usual

Supporting Older Adults Remotely (SOAR) BEHAVIORAL

SOAR is a structured, manualized, 12-week telephonic intervention delivered by Certified Older Adult Peer Specialists through 12 weekly, one-hour individual sessions. The intervention is designed to promote aging in place among older adults with serious mental illness. SOAR uses evidence-based strategies including goal setting, life review, psychoeducation, social skills training, coping skills training, patient education, peer support, self-advocacy, problem solving, medication management techniques, independent living skills training, and sharing lived experience of aging with mental health challenges. Participants have up to 5 months to complete the 12 sessions.

SOAR

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 50 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Participants will be eligible for Peer study participation if they:
• are trained and accredited as Medicaid Certified Peer Specialist in the state of New York
• be aged 50+
• ability to speak, read, and write in English; and
• have the ability to provide voluntary informed consent.
• Participants will be eligible for resident participation if they:
• are residing in the Bridge;
• are aged 50 years or older;
• can provide voluntary informed consent;
• in need of independent living skills training as determined by a score of \< 40 on the Independent Living Skills Survey

You may not qualify if:

• Peer Specialists will be excluded for:
• chart diagnosis of dementia or documented cognitive impairment as indicated by the Mini Mental State Examination score \<24;
• have two or more emergency room or hospitalizations in the last 6 months or as determined by the clinical team to be psychiatrically unstable.
• Participants will be excluded for:
• have a major visual or motor impairment as evidenced by turning a smartphone on and reporting they cannot clearly see the screen; and
• have a chart diagnosis of dementia, or evidence of significant cognitive impairment as indicated by a Mini Mental Status Examination score of less than 24.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): collaborator
• Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center: lead

Study Sites (1)

The Bridge

New York, New York, 10027, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Mental Disorders

Central Study Contacts

Karen L Fortuna, PhD, LICSW

CONTACT

603-722-5727; Karen.L.Fortuna@dartmouth.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 10, 2026
• First Posted: October 16, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2028
• Last Updated: October 21, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)