Pilot the Use of VA Make the Connection Campaign to Facilitate Help Seeking Among Vulnerable Veterans
Primary Purpose
Mental Health Issue (E.G., Depression, Psychosis, Personality Disorder, Substance Abuse), Help-Seeking Behavior
Status
Withdrawn
Phase
Not Applicable
Locations
Study Type
Interventional
Intervention
Exposure to Make the Connection messages
Active Control Group
Sponsored by
About this trial
This is an interventional health services research trial for Mental Health Issue (E.G., Depression, Psychosis, Personality Disorder, Substance Abuse) focused on measuring mental health promotion campaign, veterans
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
Veterans of all gender/sex, race/ethnicities that in the past 6 months:
- utilized health services in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA);
- screened positive on the PHQ-2, AUDIT-C or PC-PTSD and/or received a mental health diagnosis as documented in VA medical record
- Fluent in English language
- Capable of understanding goals of study
- Capable of providing verbal consent
- Willing and able to download/use study Android mobile application for duration of study
Exclusion Criteria:
- Not a U.S. Veteran who has utilized VA health care in the past 6 months
- Did not screen positive and/or was not diagnosed with mental health disorder
- Determined cognitively impaired and unable to provide verbal consent
- Determined to be in high distress during recruitment screening
- Currently institutionalized (i.e., hospitalized; incarcerated, etc.)
- Unwilling and/or unable to download and use use the study app
Sites / Locations
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Arm 3
Arm Type
Experimental
Active Comparator
No Intervention
Arm Label
Exposure to Make the Connection messages
Active Control group
No exposure control group
Arm Description
Outcomes
Primary Outcome Measures
change in help seeking behavior
self-report treatment engagement in VA or non-VA services
Secondary Outcome Measures
Attitudes towards help seeking
self-reported treatment beliefs and likelihood for help seeking
Barriers to care
The 6-item stigma Scale developed by Britt et al. (2000; 2008) to assess stigma of accessing treatment for psychological problems among military personnel is used w/a 5 point likert scale (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree). Logistical barriers to care are also assessed using the 5-item Barriers to Care scale (Hoge et al. 2004) to assess barriers to accessing psychological treatment w/ a 5 point likert scale (1=strongly disagree; 5= strongly agree). Higher values represent a worse outcome (e.g., higher endorsement of stigma).
Full Information
NCT ID
NCT03407443
First Posted
January 9, 2018
Last Updated
February 6, 2023
Sponsor
Canandaigua VA Medical Center
1. Study Identification
Unique Protocol Identification Number
NCT03407443
Brief Title
Pilot the Use of VA Make the Connection Campaign to Facilitate Help Seeking Among Vulnerable Veterans
Official Title
Evaluation of the VA's Public Awareness Campaigns
Study Type
Interventional
2. Study Status
Record Verification Date
February 2023
Overall Recruitment Status
Withdrawn
Study Start Date
July 2016 (Actual)
Primary Completion Date
September 2022 (Actual)
Study Completion Date
September 2022 (Actual)
3. Sponsor/Collaborators
Responsible Party, by Official Title
Principal Investigator
Name of the Sponsor
Canandaigua VA Medical Center
4. Oversight
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product
No
Data Monitoring Committee
No
5. Study Description
Brief Summary
This pilot study seeks to determine if exposure to the Make the Connection campaign messages developed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is associated with changes in mental-health related outcomes, specifically: (1) psychosocial determinants that drive help seeking behaviors (knowledge, attitudes and intentions); and (2) perceived barriers to seeking care. Participants are randomly assigned to message exposure or control (no exposure) conditions. Data from this project will inform mental health education and outreach efforts targeted towards Veterans experiencing mental health concerns.
6. Conditions and Keywords
Primary Disease or Condition Being Studied in the Trial, or the Focus of the Study
Mental Health Issue (E.G., Depression, Psychosis, Personality Disorder, Substance Abuse), Help-Seeking Behavior
Keywords
mental health promotion campaign, veterans
7. Study Design
Primary Purpose
Health Services Research
Study Phase
Not Applicable
Interventional Study Model
Parallel Assignment
Masking
Participant
Allocation
Randomized
Enrollment
0 (Actual)
8. Arms, Groups, and Interventions
Arm Title
Exposure to Make the Connection messages
Arm Type
Experimental
Arm Title
Active Control group
Arm Type
Active Comparator
Arm Title
No exposure control group
Arm Type
No Intervention
Intervention Type
Other
Intervention Name(s)
Exposure to Make the Connection messages
Intervention Description
Participants are exposed to Make the Connection messages (each approximately 3 minutes in length) weekly for over a four-month study period through the study mobile application.
Intervention Type
Other
Intervention Name(s)
Active Control Group
Intervention Description
Participants are exposed to VA news clips/segments (each approximately 3 minutes in length) weekly for over a four-month study period through the study mobile application.
Primary Outcome Measure Information:
Title
change in help seeking behavior
Description
self-report treatment engagement in VA or non-VA services
Time Frame
change from baseline behavior at 16 weeks
Secondary Outcome Measure Information:
Title
Attitudes towards help seeking
Description
self-reported treatment beliefs and likelihood for help seeking
Time Frame
assessed up to 16 weeks
Title
Barriers to care
Description
The 6-item stigma Scale developed by Britt et al. (2000; 2008) to assess stigma of accessing treatment for psychological problems among military personnel is used w/a 5 point likert scale (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree). Logistical barriers to care are also assessed using the 5-item Barriers to Care scale (Hoge et al. 2004) to assess barriers to accessing psychological treatment w/ a 5 point likert scale (1=strongly disagree; 5= strongly agree). Higher values represent a worse outcome (e.g., higher endorsement of stigma).
Time Frame
assessed up to 16 weeks
Other Pre-specified Outcome Measures:
Title
change in social support
Description
self-report survey using the multidimensional scale of perceived social support (Zimmet et al. 1990). This is a 12-item scale of perceived social support from family and friends. Each item is scored 1-7 on a likert scale (1=very strongly disagree; 7=very strongly agree) and summed with a possible range of 7 to 84. Higher scores indicate higher awareness/belief of social support.
Time Frame
change from baseline behavior at 16 weeks
10. Eligibility
Sex
All
Minimum Age & Unit of Time
18 Years
Maximum Age & Unit of Time
89 Years
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
Veterans of all gender/sex, race/ethnicities that in the past 6 months:
utilized health services in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA);
screened positive on the PHQ-2, AUDIT-C or PC-PTSD and/or received a mental health diagnosis as documented in VA medical record
Fluent in English language
Capable of understanding goals of study
Capable of providing verbal consent
Willing and able to download/use study Android mobile application for duration of study
Exclusion Criteria:
Not a U.S. Veteran who has utilized VA health care in the past 6 months
Did not screen positive and/or was not diagnosed with mental health disorder
Determined cognitively impaired and unable to provide verbal consent
Determined to be in high distress during recruitment screening
Currently institutionalized (i.e., hospitalized; incarcerated, etc.)
Unwilling and/or unable to download and use use the study app
Overall Study Officials:
First Name & Middle Initial & Last Name & Degree
Elizabeth Karras, PhD
Organizational Affiliation
Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua VA Medical Center; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Official's Role
Principal Investigator
12. IPD Sharing Statement
Learn more about this trial
Pilot the Use of VA Make the Connection Campaign to Facilitate Help Seeking Among Vulnerable Veterans
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