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

Canandaigua VA Medical Center

Overview

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.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE

Conditions

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

Interventions

Exposure to Make the Connection messagesOTHER

Participants are exposed to Make the Connection messages (each approximately 3 minutes in length) weekly for over a four-month study period through the study mobile application.

Active Control GroupOTHER

Participants are exposed to VA news clips/segments (each approximately 3 minutes in length) weekly for over a four-month study period through the study mobile application.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 89 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

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

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

change in help seeking behavior

self-report treatment engagement in VA or non-VA services

Time frame: change from baseline behavior at 16 weeks

Secondary Outcomes

Attitudes towards help seeking

self-reported treatment beliefs and likelihood for help seeking

Time frame: assessed up to 16 weeks

Barriers to care

The 6-item stigma Scale developed by Britt et al. (2000; 2008) to assess stigma of accessing treatment for psychological problems among military personnel is used w/a 5 point likert scale (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree). Logistical barriers to care are also assessed using the 5-item Barriers to Care scale (Hoge et al. 2004) to assess barriers to accessing psychological treatment w/ a 5 point likert scale (1=strongly disagree; 5= strongly agree). Higher values represent a worse outcome (e.g., higher endorsement of stigma).

Time frame: assessed up to 16 weeks

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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