Health Focused Motivational Treatment for Alcohol Dependent Veterans

Study Overview
=================
Brief Summary
-----------------
The purpose of this study is to determine whether a health focused motivational intervention will reduce alcohol use for dependent veterans who are receiving outpatient alcohol and drug treatment.

Detailed Description
-----------------
The early months of addiction treatment are a high risk time for relapse. The purpose of this study is to examine whether a health-related intervention delivered in an individual session with a therapist once per month in the initial 4 months of addiction treatment will reduce alcohol use among veterans already enrolled in weekly outpatient treatment group at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. In order to answer this question, study participants will be randomly assigned to one of three study conditions: 1) The Health Motivational condition that receives individual personalized health feedback and motivational activities, 2) the Health Education condition that receives individual education about health problems associated with the heavy alcohol use, and 3) the treatment as usual group that will receive no additional treatment. All participants will be assessed on a monthly basis for 4 months to evaluate alcohol use, drug use, and health status.

Official Title
-----------------
Health Focused Motivational Treatment for Alcohol Dependent Veterans

Conditions
-----------------
Alcoholism

Intervention / Treatment
-----------------
* Behavioral: Health Motivational Feedback
* Behavioral: Health Education
* Behavioral: Control - treatment as usual


Participation Criteria
=================
Eligibility Criteria
-----------------
Inclusion Criteria: - Veterans receiving outpatient treatment at the VA San Diego Healthcare System Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program for a diagnosis of Alcohol Dependence Exclusion Criteria: Diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder or Psychotic Disorder.

Ages Eligible for Study
-----------------
Minimum Age: 21 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
-----------------
All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
-----------------
Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
=================
How is the study designed?
-----------------

Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Health Motivational Feedback<br>Personalized health-related feedback | Behavioral: Health Motivational Feedback<br>* Personalized feedback on health status<br>|
| Active Comparator: Health Education<br>Non-personalized didactic health-related education | Behavioral: Health Education<br>* Generalized health education related to alcohol use<br>|
| Active Comparator: Control - treatment as usual<br>No added treatment control | Behavioral: Control - treatment as usual<br>* Control group with no additional intervention<br>|

What is the study measuring?
-----------------
Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Percentage of Days Abstinent From Alcohol |  | 4 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Percentage of Days Abstinent From All Substances | Percentage of days abstinent from both alcohol and drugs | 4 months | 

 Terms related to the study
=================
Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
-----------------
Psychotherapy motivational intervention