Developing a Telehealth Model to Improve Treatment Access for Rural Veterans With Substance Use Disorders (VetReach)

VA Office of Research and Development

Status: Active, not recruiting

Conditions: Veterans; Substance Use; Substance Use Disorders; Substance Dependence

Treatments: Behavioral: VetReach

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT05348317

PROJ-03672

CDX 22-007

Details and patient eligibility

About

This project will pilot-test and obtain stakeholder input on a telehealth-delivered substance use disorder (SUD) care model (with initial engagement and ongoing MI-CBT treatment) with the goal of increasing treatment utilization and improving outcomes for rural and non-rural Veterans with SUDs.

Enrollment: 25 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 70 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Veteran patients at the Ann Arbor VA Healthcare System
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) SUD diagnosis and/or substance use on average of 2 days a week over the past month
• Telephone access
• Able to provide informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Receiving SUD psychotherapy
• Inability to speak or understand English
• Substantial mental health instability or conditions that preclude informed consent (e.g., acute psychosis, cognitive deficits) or understanding of assessment or program content
• Prior alcohol withdrawal seizures or delirium tremens

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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25 participants in 1 patient group

MI-CBT Teletx

Experimental group

Description:

The intervention consists of an initial 30-60 min phone-delivered Engagement session that focuses on MI to help participants build self-efficacy and motivation to engage and to empower them to plan change and use Elicit-Provide-Elicit (EPE) to address treatment barriers (e.g., stigma, appeal, accessibility). Participants will then complete up to 8 \~50 minute Teletx weekly sessions via videoconference (or phone if needed). The intervention is highly patient-centered, by meeting and assessing patients where they are including in their unique context (i.e. rural community), helping them identify reasons and motivations for change, and centered around their goals (e.g. substance use reduction or abstinence).

Treatment:

Behavioral: VetReach