Pilot the Use of VA Make the Connection Campaign to Facilitate Help Seeking Among Vulnerable Veterans

Canandaigua VA Medical Center

Status: Withdrawn

Conditions: Help-Seeking Behavior; Mental Health Issue (E.G., Depression, Psychosis, Personality Disorder, Substance Abuse)

Treatments: Other: Active Control Group; Other: Exposure to Make the Connection messages

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other U.S. Federal agency

Identifiers

NCT03407443

IRB899190

Details and patient eligibility

About

This pilot study seeks to determine if exposure to the Make the Connection campaign messages developed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is associated with changes in mental-health related outcomes, specifically: (1) psychosocial determinants that drive help seeking behaviors (knowledge, attitudes and intentions); and (2) perceived barriers to seeking care. Participants are randomly assigned to message exposure or control (no exposure) conditions. Data from this project will inform mental health education and outreach efforts targeted towards Veterans experiencing mental health concerns.

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 89 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Veterans of all gender/sex, race/ethnicities that in the past 6 months:

• utilized health services in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA);
• screened positive on the PHQ-2, AUDIT-C or PC-PTSD and/or received a mental health diagnosis as documented in VA medical record
• Fluent in English language
• Capable of understanding goals of study
• Capable of providing verbal consent
• Willing and able to download/use study Android mobile application for duration of study

Exclusion criteria

• Not a U.S. Veteran who has utilized VA health care in the past 6 months
• Did not screen positive and/or was not diagnosed with mental health disorder
• Determined cognitively impaired and unable to provide verbal consent
• Determined to be in high distress during recruitment screening
• Currently institutionalized (i.e., hospitalized; incarcerated, etc.)
• Unwilling and/or unable to download and use use the study app

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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0 participants in 3 patient groups

Exposure to Make the Connection messages

Experimental group

Treatment:

Other: Exposure to Make the Connection messages

Active Control group

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Other: Active Control Group

No exposure control group

No Intervention group