PTSD
Conditions
Keywords
Mental Health, PTSD, Stigma, Peer Education, Web Education, Self Help
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the AboutFace peer education website for the purpose of reducing stigma and improving attitudes toward seeking mental health services among Veterans.
Detailed description
Research suggests that at least 1 in 10 Veterans will meet criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to their military experience. Treatment is widely available to Veterans with PTSD, and national dissemination initiatives have increased Veterans' access to best practice interventions. However, treatment seeking remains strikingly low among Veterans with PTSD. In fact, most Veterans with PTSD do not seek mental health services due to perceived stigma and other associated barriers. The National Center for PTSD recently developed and launched AboutFace, a peer education resource for Veterans. The investigators of this study believe that AboutFace has tremendous potential to reduce stigma and improve attitudes toward seeking mental health services among Veterans. However, it has not yet been evaluated. Investigators have partnered with the National Center for PTSD to launch this mixed methods pilot evaluation of AboutFace. There will be two phases to this study. During Phase I- Usability, 20 Veterans will be recruited to participate in individual interviews during which they will be asked to describe the ease of use of the AboutFace website for the researchers. During Phase II- Feasibility, 60 Veterans will be randomized to one of two conditions- About Face or Usual Care. All participants will complete several brief assessments measuring PTSD symptoms and attitudes toward seeking mental health services. Participants will then be randomized to either receive a link to the About Face website or to receive a link to a general online brochure about PTSD. After two weeks, participants will complete the assessment measures once again to determine any changes in attitudes toward seeking mental health services and potential changes in PTSD symptoms.
Interventions
OTHERAboutFace Website
AboutFace is an informational website that utilizes digital storytelling to describe PTSD symptoms and different treatments for PTSD.
Sponsors
VA Office of Research and Development
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Must be 18 years of age * Recommended for PTSD treatment following evaluation * Internet access * English Speaking
Exclusion criteria
* Minors under the age of 18 * Non-Veterans * Negative for PTSD
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Endorsed and Anticipated Stigma Inventory (EASI) | pre-treatment (baseline) & post-treatment (two-week) assessment | THE EASI assesses for perceptions of treatment effectiveness, stigma, and external barriers to treatment seeking. Answers are ranked from 1 to 5 with 1 being Strongly Disagree and 5 being Strongly Agree and higher scores are indicative of greater stigma. Total scores can range from 40 to 190. Phase I participants did not participate in Phase II (the clinical trial portion of the study) and were not assessed using this measure. |
| PTSD Checklist (PCL-V) | pre-treatment (baseline) & post-treatment (2-week) assessment | The PCL-V is a 20-item self-report measure that assesses PTSD severity. Individual item responses can range from 0-4 with 0 being Not At All and 4 being Extremely and total scores can range from 0 to 80. Higher numbers on the PCL-V are indicative of greater PTSD severity. Phase I participants did not participate in Phase II (the clinical trial portion of the study) and were not assessed using this measure. |
| PTSD Treatment Initiators | two weeks post assessment | percentage/rate of PTSD treatment initiation at post assessment (2-weeks) Phase I participants did not participate in Phase II (the clinical trial portion of the study) and were not assessed using this measure. |
Countries
United States
Participant flow
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Phase II-Experimental Participants using AboutFace
AboutFace Website: AboutFace is an informational website that utilizes digital storytelling to describe PTSD symptoms and treatment for PTSD. | 30 |
| Phase II- Usual Care Condition Education and Print materials only | 30 |
| Total | 60 |
Withdrawals & dropouts
| Period | Reason | FG000 | FG001 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Study | did not login for randomization | 4 | 7 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Phase II- Usual Care Condition | Phase II-Experimental | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Categorical <=18 years | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical >=65 years | 3 Participants | 2 Participants | 5 Participants |
| Age, Categorical Between 18 and 65 years | 27 Participants | 28 Participants | 55 Participants |
| Age, Continuous | 42.13 years | 42.27 years | 42.20 years |
| Region of Enrollment United States | 30 Participants | 30 Participants | 60 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 6 Participants | 11 Participants | 17 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 24 Participants | 19 Participants | 43 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 30 | 0 / 30 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 30 | 0 / 30 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 30 | 0 / 30 |
Outcome results
Primary
Endorsed and Anticipated Stigma Inventory (EASI)
THE EASI assesses for perceptions of treatment effectiveness, stigma, and external barriers to treatment seeking. Answers are ranked from 1 to 5 with 1 being Strongly Disagree and 5 being Strongly Agree and higher scores are indicative of greater stigma. Total scores can range from 40 to 190. Phase I participants did not participate in Phase II (the clinical trial portion of the study) and were not assessed using this measure.
Time frame: pre-treatment (baseline) & post-treatment (two-week) assessment
Population: Total N=60; Only 49 randomized (26 in EXP arm and 23 in Usual Care arm) because 11 participants did not access website portal to obtain their randomization assignment. The EASI was also missing for 1 participant at post.
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase II-Experimental | Endorsed and Anticipated Stigma Inventory (EASI) | pre-treatment (baseline) mean | 57.9 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 27.2 |
| Phase II-Experimental | Endorsed and Anticipated Stigma Inventory (EASI) | post-treatment (2-week) mean | 57.5 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 33.1 |
| Phase II- Usual Care Condition | Endorsed and Anticipated Stigma Inventory (EASI) | pre-treatment (baseline) mean | 62.3 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 31.4 |
| Phase II- Usual Care Condition | Endorsed and Anticipated Stigma Inventory (EASI) | post-treatment (2-week) mean | 54.1 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 30.7 |
Primary
PTSD Checklist (PCL-V)
The PCL-V is a 20-item self-report measure that assesses PTSD severity. Individual item responses can range from 0-4 with 0 being Not At All and 4 being Extremely and total scores can range from 0 to 80. Higher numbers on the PCL-V are indicative of greater PTSD severity. Phase I participants did not participate in Phase II (the clinical trial portion of the study) and were not assessed using this measure.
Time frame: pre-treatment (baseline) & post-treatment (2-week) assessment
Population: Total N=60; Only 49 randomized (26 in EXP arm and 23 in Usual Care arm) because 11 participants did not access the website portal to obtain their randomization assignment.
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase II-Experimental | PTSD Checklist (PCL-V) | pre-treatment (baseline) mean (sd) | 51.1 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 10.6 |
| Phase II-Experimental | PTSD Checklist (PCL-V) | post-treatment (2-week) mean (sd) | 49.4 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 9.7 |
| Phase II- Usual Care Condition | PTSD Checklist (PCL-V) | pre-treatment (baseline) mean (sd) | 52.1 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 11.4 |
| Phase II- Usual Care Condition | PTSD Checklist (PCL-V) | post-treatment (2-week) mean (sd) | 49.5 units on a scale | Standard Deviation 12.5 |
Primary
PTSD Treatment Initiators
percentage/rate of PTSD treatment initiation at post assessment (2-weeks) Phase I participants did not participate in Phase II (the clinical trial portion of the study) and were not assessed using this measure.
Time frame: two weeks post assessment
Population: Total N=60; Only 49 randomized (26 in EXP arm and 23 in Usual Care arm) because 11 participants did not access the website portal to obtain their randomization assignment. Data was also missing for 1 participant at post.
| Arm | Measure | Value (COUNT_OF_PARTICIPANTS) |
|---|---|---|
| Phase II-Experimental | PTSD Treatment Initiators | 20 Participants |
| Phase II- Usual Care Condition | PTSD Treatment Initiators | 15 Participants |