Pilot Evaluation of AboutFace: Novel Peer Education Resource for Veterans

VA Office of Research and Development

Status: Completed

Conditions: PTSD

Treatments: Other: AboutFace Website

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT02486692

PPO 14-360

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the AboutFace peer education website for the purpose of reducing stigma and improving attitudes toward seeking mental health services among Veterans.

Full description

Research suggests that at least 1 in 10 Veterans will meet criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to their military experience. Treatment is widely available to Veterans with PTSD, and national dissemination initiatives have increased Veterans' access to best practice interventions. However, treatment seeking remains strikingly low among Veterans with PTSD. In fact, most Veterans with PTSD do not seek mental health services due to perceived stigma and other associated barriers. The National Center for PTSD recently developed and launched AboutFace, a peer education resource for Veterans. The investigators of this study believe that AboutFace has tremendous potential to reduce stigma and improve attitudes toward seeking mental health services among Veterans. However, it has not yet been evaluated. Investigators have partnered with the National Center for PTSD to launch this mixed methods pilot evaluation of AboutFace. There will be two phases to this study. During Phase I- Usability, 20 Veterans will be recruited to participate in individual interviews during which they will be asked to describe the ease of use of the AboutFace website for the researchers. During Phase II- Feasibility, 60 Veterans will be randomized to one of two conditions- About Face or Usual Care. All participants will complete several brief assessments measuring PTSD symptoms and attitudes toward seeking mental health services. Participants will then be randomized to either receive a link to the About Face website or to receive a link to a general online brochure about PTSD. After two weeks, participants will complete the assessment measures once again to determine any changes in attitudes toward seeking mental health services and potential changes in PTSD symptoms.

Enrollment: 60 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Must be 18 years of age
• Recommended for PTSD treatment following evaluation
• Internet access
• English Speaking

Exclusion criteria

• Minors under the age of 18
• Non-Veterans
• Negative for PTSD

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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60 participants in 2 patient groups

Phase II- Experimental Group

Experimental group

Description:

Participants were provided with instructions and a web link for accessing the AboutFace website after the baseline assessment.

Treatment:

Other: AboutFace Website

Phase II- Usual Care Group

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants were provided with instructions and a web link for accessing some online PTSD education materials after the baseline assessment.