Clinical trial NCT05967364: Career Enhancement Training Study Delivered Across Career Phases
Official title: Career Enhancement Training Study Delivered Across Career Phases
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION
Phase: NA
Conditions: Suicide Prevention
Suicide
Keywords: military
suicide risk
Lead sponsor: University of Rochester
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2023-08-01
Enrollment: 2970
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 40
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Classes will be randomized at Initial Technical Training. 396 classes of USAF personnel will be randomized at a 1:2 ratio to Wingman-Connect or to an active control (N=2,970 Airmen) and followed for one year.
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: This trial tests the effectiveness of the Wingman-Connect Program delivered by USAF personnel on individual suicide risk. Randomization will be among classes at Initial Technical Training, in which 396 classes of USAF personnel will be randomized to Wingman-Connect or to an active control training (N=2,970 Airmen) and followed for one year. These classes send a proportion of graduates to Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) \& Air Mobility Command (AMC) operational bases.

Detailed description: Military suicide rates increased 61% from 2008 - 2019 and rates have increased faster in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) compared to other branches. Currently, the predominant military suicide prevention approach is to try to remediate suicide risk after suicidal individuals are identified. No RCT-validated universal programs shown to reduce vulnerability to suicide are in wide use. To fill this gap, the Wingman-Connect Program is a group-based intervention that strengthens protective relationship networks and skills for managing career and personal challenges, to reduce vulnerability to suicide across the broad USAF population. This proposed trial tests the effectiveness of the Wingman-Connect Program on individual suicide risk. We will examine theory-driven mediators and moderators and implementation of the program as delivered by US Air Force (not research) personnel under real world conditions across early career phases. This effectiveness study is the critical next stage in the translational pipeline toward large-scale roll-out to prevent suicide deaths. Classes will be randomized at Initial Technical Training (Sheppard AFB), in which 396 classes of USAF personnel will be randomized to Wingman-Connect or to an active control (N=2,970 Airmen) and followed for one year. Classes will be selected over 36 months to reach the enrollment target of 2,970. We are recruiting technical training classes that train Airmen in specific jobs that support the mission and aircraft of AFGSC \& AMC MajComs. After baseline assessments (prior to randomization of classes), participants in the two conditions will complete an additional 2 assessments: 6 months and 12 months. During the follow up period, a portion of enrolled subjects will receive duty assignments at bases where the AF is implementing Wingman-Connect, providing an opportunity to learn about how varying exposure levels impacts them.

Aim 1: Test effectiveness of Wingman-Connect on reducing self-reported suicide risk. We will evaluate individual level outcomes of suicide risk, depression, and occupational problems up to 1 yr.

Aim 2: Evaluate theory-proposed network health mediators and moderators. Wingman-Connect is expected to increase Airmen's positive social bonds, group cohesion, morale, and healthy coping norms in their social networks; those changes will contribute to reduced suicide risk, depression and occupational problems.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Airmen-in-Training (AiT) recruited from technical training classes that train Airmen in jobs that support the mission and aircraft of AFGSC \& AMC MajComs.
* Eligible classes must be between 37-91 class days in length

Exclusion Criteria:

* Airmen from other countries receiving training in US
* Airmen who are not in their first year of enlistment

Primary outcomes:
measure: At-risk cut-off of computerized adaptive testing for suicide severity
timeFrame: 1 year
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Mean computerized adaptive testing for depression
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Mean Behavioral Occupational Performance Outcomes
timeFrame: 1 year
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Rochester
country: United States
facility: University of Rochester
state: New York
Study officials:
References:
citation: Wyman PA, Pickering TA, Pisani AR, Cero I, Yates B, Schmeelk-Cone K, Hendricks Brown C, Gibbons RD, Simonson J, Pflanz SE. Wingman-Connect Program increases social integration for Air Force personnel at elevated suicide risk: Social network analysis of a cluster RCT. Soc Sci Med. 2022 Mar;296:114737. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114737. Epub 2022 Jan 22.
citation: Wyman PA, Pisani AR, Brown CH, Yates B, Morgan-DeVelder L, Schmeelk-Cone K, Gibbons RD, Caine ED, Petrova M, Neal-Walden T, Linkh DJ, Matteson A, Simonson J, Pflanz SE. Effect of the Wingman-Connect Upstream Suicide Prevention Program for Air Force Personnel in Training: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Oct 1;3(10):e2022532. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.22532.