Efficacy Trial of Warrior Check-Up

University of Washington

Status and phase: Completed; Phase 2

Conditions: Alcohol Abuse; Substance Dependence; Substance Abuse; Alcohol Dependence

Treatments: Behavioral: Motivational Enhancement Therapy; Behavioral: Education

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT01128140

37278-C

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study will develop and test a brief telephone-delivered motivational enhancement intervention for substance abusing military personnel who are not currently in treatment. The hypotheses being tested are that this intervention will prompt a willingness to participate voluntarily in a self-appraisal of substance abuse behavior and consequences, self-initiated change or enrollment in a treatment or self-help program, and cessation of abuse of alcohol or other drugs.

Full description

The health and well-being of military personnel, and consequently the capacity for optimal functioning of military units, are compromised by the abuse of alcohol and/or other drugs. Rates of heavy drinking are higher among military personnel than in the general population and are even higher among recently deployed personnel.

While counseling can be effective, most substance abusers do not tend to voluntarily seek treatment. Moreover, military personnel encounter more real and perceived barriers to seeking treatment.

The substance abuse field is increasingly focusing on developing interventions for those at early stages of readiness to change, i.e., those contemplating but not yet committed to change. A brief, telephone-delivered motivational enhancement intervention (MET) called a "check-up," has shown promise in promoting self-initiated behavior change as well as voluntary treatment entry, enhanced retention, and more successful outcomes for substance abuse.

Adapting the "check-up" for application with military personnel is warranted for three key reasons: (1) it has the potential of overcoming barriers to treatment-seeking, i.e., stigma and apprehension of a negative impact on one's military career; (2) it has the potential of attracting voluntary participation; and (3) protocols for disseminating this low cost intervention for use with deployed military can readily be developed and evaluated.

Enrollment: 242 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. current abuse or dependence on one or more substances
2. not currently enrolled in a counseling program focusing on substance abuse
3. currently serving in the Army or other branch of the military.

Exclusion criteria

1. non-fluency in English
2. evidence of psychosis

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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242 participants in 2 patient groups

Motivational Enhancement Therapy

Experimental group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Motivational Enhancement Therapy

Education

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Behavioral: Education