Innovative service delivery for secondary prevention of PTSD in at-risk OIF-OEF service men and women

Daniel F. Gros, Martha Strachan, Kenneth J. Ruggiero, Rebecca G. Knapp, B. Christopher Frueh, Leonard E. Egede, C. W. Lejuez, Peter W. Tuerk, Ron Acierno

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Scopus citations

Abstract

Service personnel involved in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom are at high risk for trauma-related physical injury and emotional problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depression. Although evidence-based psychotherapies are increasingly available and effective in treating symptoms of PTSD, a large number of service personnel are reluctant to seek mental health treatments due to both perceived stigma associated with these treatments and geographically-based barriers to care at specialized treatment facilities. The present investigation evaluates an innovation in service delivery designed to address these concerns. Specifically, we are comparing exposure-based therapy for PTSD delivered via traditional, in-person settings to the same exposure-based treatment delivered via telehealth technology. The proposed project is a prospective, randomized repeated measures design with two treatment groups (telehealth and in-person) assessed at pre-treatment, mid-treatment, post-treatment and 3- and 12-month follow-up points. Outcome measures ascertain longer-term effects of the treatments on three domains: clinical, process, and economic. Non-inferiority and superiority analyses will be conducted to determine symptom changes between pre-treatment, post-treatment, and follow-up time points between the two treatment conditions. The study will determine whether an exposure therapy for PTSD delivered via telehealth is at least as successful as the same exposure-based therapy delivered in-person in treating the symptoms of PTSD in both subthreshold and fully diagnosed cases.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)122-128
Number of pages7
JournalContemporary Clinical Trials
Volume32
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2011

Keywords

  • Depression
  • Exposure therapy
  • OEF/OIF
  • PTSD
  • Telehealth

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology (medical)

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