Clinical trial NCT04523779: A Pragmatic Trial of Brief CBT for Anxiety in VA Primary Care
Official title: A Pragmatic Trial of Brief CBT for Anxiety in VA Primary Care
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Anxiety
Keywords: anxiety disorder
panic disorder
phobia, social
worry
stress
Lead sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
Sponsor class: FED
First posted: 2020-08-24
Enrollment: 225
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based practice (EBP) for all types of anxiety disorders including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder. The proposed bCBT treatment for anxiety was specifically designed for use within VA PCMHI settings and uses a patient-centered approach to increase engagement while addressing the mental health needs of anxious Veterans. Emphasis was placed on maximizing intervention potency and minimizing intensity and duration to improve implementation value and alignment with VA PCMHI requirements. The intervention directly addresses challenges to delivery of CBT providing 1) a brief, practical model of care to address multiple anxiety conditions consistent with the PCMHI model (e.g. 4-6 sessions; measurement-based care), and 2) a clinically potent intervention that includes exposure-based skills.
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: This 4-year study will examine the value of a type of a brief cognitive behavioral therapy treatment for Veterans with anxiety and worry. This treatment will be delivered either in-person, or by video telehealth to the Veteran's home. The treatment will be delivered by providers at three Veterans Administration Medical Centers (Houston, New Orleans, and San Antonio). The study will compare the helpfulness of this treatment to the usual care Veterans receive for anxiety and worry. A supplement to this study will also evaluate daily discrimination experiences of Veterans based on the participant's race, ethnicity, religion, physical appearance, or other characteristics.

Detailed description: This 4-year, multisite trial (Houston, New Orleans and San Antonio) will use a pragmatic randomized trial design to examine the effectiveness and implementation potential of a brief cognitive behavioral therapy(bCBT) intervention for anxiety delivered either in-person or via VA Video Connect-Home (VVC-H), according to patient preference. Brief CBT will be delivered by existing Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI) providers at three large VAMCs (Houston, New Orleans, and San Antonio). Aim 1 will examine the clinical effectiveness of the bCBT intervention vs. Enhanced Usual Care (EUC) for anxiety at 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow-ups. Aim 2 will determine factors associated with bCBT response and explore Veteran demographic and clinical factors associated with VVC-H engagement. An exploratory aim will use mixed, qualitative and quantitative methods to better understand implementation successes and challenges related to delivery and impact of bCBT anxiety and VVC-H use in the PCMHI setting. The primary hypothesis is that anxiety outcomes, as measured by the General Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) will be superior at 4-, 8-, and 12-month follow up for patients who are assigned to receive bCBT vs. EUC.

In addition, participants will be asked to complete the Diversity Supplement measures and qualitative interview to evaluate whether sociocultural factors are associated with the severity and type of anxiety symptoms among Veterans of different race/ethnicity groups.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Must be a United States military Veteran
* Veteran participants will be current recipients of services at the Houston, New Orleans, or San Antonio VA Medical Centers.
* Patients who have received Primary Care Mental Health Integration services, or are eligible for PCMHI services (They are not receiving specialty mental health services)
* Veterans with clinically significant symptoms of anxiety will be included after screening on two occasions to ensure consistency of anxiety symptoms (GAD-7 score of 10 or greater; telephone screen and baseline appointment).

Exclusion Criteria:

* Cognitive impairment
* Presence of bipolar, psychotic or substance-abuse disorders.
* Veterans currently receiving psychotherapy for anxiety at the time of enrollment WILL be excluded so as not to duplicate services (Current treatment will be defined as patients that have received a psychotherapy appointment within the last 3 months).

Primary outcomes:
measure: GAD-7 Change
timeFrame: Baseline, 4-, 8-, and 12-month
Secondary outcomes:
measure: OASIS Change
timeFrame: Baseline, 4-, 8-, and 12-month
measure: SF-12 Change
timeFrame: Baseline, 4-, 8-, and 12-month
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: New Orleans
country: United States
facility: Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, New Orleans, LA
state: Louisiana
city: Houston
country: United States
facility: Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX
state: Texas
city: San Antonio
country: United States
facility: South Texas Health Care System, San Antonio, TX
state: Texas
Study officials:
affiliation: Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX
name: Terri L. Fletcher, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Cully JA, Fischer EP, Gonzalez R, Williams JS, Sansgiry S, Zeno D, Mittal D, Kuo I. Provider perceptions and use of mental health services in the Veterans Health Administration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychol Serv. 2024 Feb;21(1):110-119. doi: 10.1037/ser0000772. Epub 2023 Jun 1.
citation: Ecker AH, Cully JA, Cucciare MA, Hundt NE. Patient and Provider Perspectives on Treating Substance Use Disorder and Co-Occurring Anxiety and Posttraumatic Stress Disorders in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Journal of Veterans Studies. 2023 Jun 1; 9(1):171-180.
citation: Cully JA, Hundt NE, Fletcher T, Sansgiry S, Zeno D, Kauth MR, Kunik ME, Sorocco K. Brief Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Depression in Community Clinics: A Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Trial. Psychiatr Serv. 2024 Mar 1;75(3):237-245. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.20220582. Epub 2023 Sep 7.
citation: Hertz AG, Dawson DB, Rassu FS, Ecker AH, Helm A, Hundt NE, Fletcher TL. Delivery of Exposure and Response Prevention Among Veterans with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. J Behav Health Serv Res. 2023 Oct;50(4):514-523. doi: 10.1007/s11414-023-09838-3. Epub 2023 Apr 6.
citation: Boykin DM, Wray LO, Funderburk JS, Holliday S, Kunik ME, Kauth MR, Fletcher TL, Mignogna J, Roberson RB 3rd, Cully JA. Leveraging the ExpandNet framework and operational partnerships to scale-up brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in VA primary care clinics. J Clin Transl Sci. 2022 Jul 20;6(1):e95. doi: 10.1017/cts.2022.430. eCollection 2022.