This project will develop and pilot test an enhanced, telephone "coaching" intervention to help family members concerned about a Veteran of the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan who needs to seek treatment for a substance abuse problem.
The investigators will first develop a detailed manual for Coaching-CRAFT, which will be a telephone-based model of coaching that uses the web-version of an intervention already developed and available to the investigators. The investigators will conduct a preliminary nonrandomized feasibility trial of the use of Coaching-CRAFT with a sample of 50 family member callers recruited from VA's Coaching Into Care call center. Later in the study, the investigators will recruit up to 50 Veterans whose family members also participated in this study. Since the 'Coaching Into Care' telephone-based call center located at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center (CMCVAMC) is a national call center, study subjects (non-Veterans and Veterans) will be from all parts of the United States. Family members (spouses, siblings, or parents) of Veteran will be recruited from Coaching Into Care, and offered telephone-based coaching to the family member regarding their concern that the Veteran has a substance abuse problem and does not want to seek treatment. The program will involve approximately 12 telephone calls over 4-6 months. Family members will be assessed for their own mental health symptoms, their perception of their Veteran's mental health symptoms and substance use, his or her treatment, as well as their perception of burden on the relationship with the Veteran. These assessments will occur at study entry, 6 months, and 12 months after study entry. Veteran's perceptions of the intervention will be sought at 12 months, whenever safe and practical. For Veterans who are not approached to participate in the study, VHA administrative data will be sought through a HIPAA Waiver to confirm any possible mental health and or substance abuse treatment the Veteran has received. Rates of initiation of treatment will be compared to QA data from the Coaching Into Care call center.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
52
Telephone coaching was provided in a series of telephone based sessions with CSO participants
Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Number of Veteran's Engaged in Mental Health Care
Veteran's mental health care engagement was assessed from CSO participants' report.
Time frame: At any point during study involvement, up to 1 year after enrollment
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