Supported Education Pilot

Early Phase 1

Completed

Conditions: PTSD

Interventions: Other: Supported Education
Other: General Peer Support

Registration Number: NCT01073657

Lead Sponsor: US Department of Veterans Affairs

Brief Summary: The goal of this project is to gather data necessary for a full scale trial of a supported education service for OIF/OEF veterans with PTSD. Forty Veterans with PTSD will be randomly assigned to an intervention group (N=20) that receives a weekly supported education intervention and a control group that receives services as usual plus an hour of attentive intervention not focused on education. We will assess and compare the number of hours of participation in community education settings and on acquiring an educational goal for the Veterans in each group.

Detailed Description: Goal: The goal of this project is to gather data on feasibility and effect size necessary for a full scale trial of a supported education service for Operation Iraq and Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) veterans with PTSD that will contribute to its evidence-base. Supported education is a rehabilitation and recovery based intervention that is new to VHA services and that responds to an expressed but unmet need among these warriors with war-related trauma. We propose to conduct a pilot of a supported education service and employ a process and outcome evaluation.

Anticipated Impacts on Veterans Healthcare: Veterans with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) possess educational aspirations. Due to limited education and disability adjustment, many such veterans unsuccessfully locate employment or obtain entry level jobs with limited advancement opportunities. Even with current GI Bill funding increases, veterans experience non-financial barriers to their pursuit of educational goals. Supported education is a strategy developed within the civilian population that facilitates skill, career, and educational goals within post-secondary educational settings. It has been shown to increase educational engagement, participation, and completion, as well as improve empowerment and school efficacy. We hypothesize that supported education tailored to returning Veterans will result in similar outcomes.

Aims and Objectives: The goal of this project is to gather data necessary for a full scale trial of a supported education service for OIF/OEF veterans with PTSD. The following are the aims and objectives:

Aim 1: Using a randomized controlled design, assess the magnitude of the effect of a supported education service on hours of participation in community educational settings and on acquiring an educational goal. Objective: Assess the number of hours of participation in community education settings and on acquiring an educational goal for 40 Veterans with PTSD who are randomly assigned to an intervention group (N=20) that receives a weekly supported education intervention and a control group that receives services as usual plus an hour of attentive intervention not focused on education.

Aim 2. To examine whether the supported education intervention has secondary effects for improving PTSD symptoms and attitudes on recovery. Objective: Conduct pre- and post assessments of recovery attitudes and of PTSD symptoms, and then compare the control and intervention group for changes in these scores.

Aim 3. To acquire additional process information on the design and implementation of a supported education service necessary for a successful larger trial. Objective: Conduct a process evaluation of the implementation strategies for: participant recruitment, participant drop-out, technician training procedures, technician recovery promoting competence, and curriculum content and pacing using a standardized assessment, exit interviews, peer notes and study records.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 33

Inclusion Criteria

PTSD
OIF/OEF Service

Exclusion Criteria

None

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Supported Education	Supported Education	Veterans received supported education services. A Veteran peer met weekly as needed with a subject for up to six months in a psycho-social rehabilitation service for meeting education goals. Goals included choosing a college, getting admitted or enrolled, and maintaining enrollment and completing classes.
General Peer Support	General Peer Support	Matched attention was provided by a Veteran peer who met weekly with Veterans but who focused on help with any personal goal (eg, employment, housing) but not on education.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
"Supported Education Process Measure"	6 months	Number of quarter hours spent in activities related to acquiring an education goal e.g., preparing applications, attending classes. Hours will be logged on a tally sheet adapted from the "Supported Education Process Measure" (Corrigan, 2009).

Secondary Outcome Measures