Couple HOPES (Helping Overcome PTSD and Enhance Satisfaction)

York University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Treatments: Behavioral: Couple HOPES Guided, Internet-Delivered, Self-Help Intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04763681

W7714-207266 (Other Grant/Funding Number)

CIHR-IRSC:0525007697 (Other Grant/Funding Number)

2019-475

173098 (Other Grant/Funding Number)

Details and patient eligibility

About

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) will be a severe problem in Canada in the wake of COVID-19, especially for Military Members, Veterans, First Responders, and Healthcare Workers (MVFH). However, gold standard face-to-face PTSD treatments do not meet current MVFH needs, which requires virtual interventions and minimal healthcare resources. Recognizing the need for a virtual, low-resource PTSD intervention for MVFH with PTSD and their loved ones, the investigators developed Couple HOPES (Helping Overcome PTSD and Enhance Satisfaction). Couple HOPES is a secure, online self-help intervention for those with PTSD and their partners (www.couplehopes.com). However, MVFH are now particularly likely to be exposed to traumas related to COVID-19. It is essential to identify if Couple HOPES is safe and helpful for couples involving MVFH with COVID-19-related PTSD specifically. This project will therefore test the efficacy of Couple HOPES compared to a delayed waitlist control in 70 couples wherein one member is a MVFH with COVID-19-related PTSD. The investigators will examine if Couple HOPES is helpful in improving PTSD symptoms and relationship satisfaction for such couples, and if it is more or less helpful to this end for these couples compared to those with other forms of trauma exposure. 70 couples including a MVFH with COVID-19-related PTSD, will be randomly assigned to receive Couple HOPES or to a waitlist. PTSD symptoms and relationship satisfaction will be measured ~weekly during the intervention and one month after it. Related problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, healthcare use) will be measured before, in the middle of, after, and one month after, the intervention.

Enrollment: 54 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 64 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Individual who is a Canadian military member, veteran, first responder or healthcare worker with clinically significant levels of PTSD symptoms related to COVID-19
• Individual who is an American healthcare worker with clinically significant levels of PTSD symptoms related to COVID-19
• Must be willing to be audio-recorded for coaching sessions
• Intimate partner willing to participant and complete intervention modules together
• Access to high speed internet

Exclusion criteria

• Elevated suicide risk
• Severe physical aggression between partners in the past year
• Clinically significant PTSD symptoms in both members of the dyad

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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54 participants in 2 patient groups

Immediate Couple HOPES

Experimental group

Description:

Immediately assigned to receive seven modules of an Internet-delivered self-help intervention with paraprofessional coaching for PTSD completed at the participant's own pace within 8 weeks.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Couple HOPES Guided, Internet-Delivered, Self-Help Intervention

Delayed Intervention

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants will not receive Couple HOPES for the first 8 weeks, and complete assessments at the beginning, middle, and end of this period. After this 8-week delay, participants will then receive seven modules of an Internet-delivered self-help intervention with paraprofessional coaching for PTSD completed at the participant's own pace within 8 weeks.