Clinical trial NCT01073657: Supported Education Pilot
Official title: Supporting Education Goals of OIF/OEF Veterans With PTSD: Pilot Process & Outcome
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: EARLY_PHASE1
Conditions: PTSD
Keywords: Rehabilitation
Lead sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
Sponsor class: FED
First posted: 2010-02-23
Enrollment: 33
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The goal of this project is to gather data necessary for a full scale trial of a supported education service for OIF/OEF veterans with PTSD. Forty Veterans with PTSD will be randomly assigned to an intervention group (N=20) that receives a weekly supported education intervention and a control group that receives services as usual plus an hour of attentive intervention not focused on education. We will assess and compare the number of hours of participation in community education settings and on acquiring an educational goal for the Veterans in each group.

Detailed description: Goal: The goal of this project is to gather data on feasibility and effect size necessary for a full scale trial of a supported education service for Operation Iraq and Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) veterans with PTSD that will contribute to its evidence-base. Supported education is a rehabilitation and recovery based intervention that is new to VHA services and that responds to an expressed but unmet need among these warriors with war-related trauma. We propose to conduct a pilot of a supported education service and employ a process and outcome evaluation.

Anticipated Impacts on Veterans Healthcare: Veterans with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) possess educational aspirations. Due to limited education and disability adjustment, many such veterans unsuccessfully locate employment or obtain entry level jobs with limited advancement opportunities. Even with current GI Bill funding increases, veterans experience non-financial barriers to their pursuit of educational goals. Supported education is a strategy developed within the civilian population that facilitates skill, career, and educational goals within post-secondary educational settings. It has been shown to increase educational engagement, participation, and completion, as well as improve empowerment and school efficacy. We hypothesize that supported education tailored to returning Veterans will result in similar outcomes.

Aims and Objectives: The goal of this project is to gather data necessary for a full scale trial of a supported education service for OIF/OEF veterans with PTSD. The following are the aims and objectives:

Aim 1: Using a randomized controlled design, assess the magnitude of the effect of a supported education service on hours of participation in community educational settings and on acquiring an educational goal. Objective: Assess the number of hours of participation in community education settings and on acquiring an educational goal for 40 Veterans with PTSD who are randomly assigned to an intervention group (N=20) that receives a weekly supported education intervention and a control group that receives services as usual plus an hour of attentive intervention not focused on education.

Aim 2. To examine whether the supported education intervention has secondary effects for improving PTSD symptoms and attitudes on recovery. Objective: Conduct pre- and post assessments of recovery attitudes and of PTSD symptoms, and then compare the control and intervention group for changes in these scores.

Aim 3. To acquire additional process information on the design and implementation of a supported education service necessary for a successful larger trial. Objective: Conduct a process evaluation of the implementation strategies for: participant recruitment, participant drop-out, technician training procedures, technician recovery promoting competence, and curriculum content and pacing using a standardized assessment, exit interviews, peer notes and study records.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* PTSD
* OIF/OEF Service

Exclusion Criteria:

None

Primary outcomes:
measure: "Supported Education Process Measure"
timeFrame: 6 months
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Bedford
country: United States
facility: Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA
state: Massachusetts
Study officials:
affiliation: Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA
name: Marsha Langer Ellison, PhD MSW
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Ellison ML, Mueller L, Smelson D, Corrigan PW, Torres Stone RA, Bokhour BG, Najavits LM, Vessella JM, Drebing C. Supporting the education goals of post-9/11 veterans with self-reported PTSD symptoms: a needs assessment. Psychiatr Rehabil J. 2012 Winter;35(3):209-17. doi: 10.2975/35.3.2012.209.217.