Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Military Partners Through The Together Webinar Programme: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
试验速览
- 阶段
- 不适用
- 状态
- 已完成
- 入组人数
- 196
- 试验地点
- 1
- 主要终点
- Change in symptoms of the psychological distress on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) from baseline to end of treatment to 1-month follow-up
研究概览
简要总结
Military partners are at risk of mental health difficulties, including depression, anxiety and secondary traumatization. However, many partners face a range of barriers in accessing psychological support. As such, there remains a need to investigate how to make support for military partners more accessible.
The present study was a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigating the effectiveness of The Together Webinar Programme (TTP-Webinar) in reducing psychological distress and secondary trauma symptoms and improving quality of life among partners of veterans with PTSD and other mental health difficulties. The pilot RCT compared the TTP-Webinar intervention to a waitlist condition. The primary aim was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of offering web-based support to military partners and to investigate the efficacy of the remote-access support.
It was hypothesized that, compared to the waitlist condition, the TTP-Webinar would result in significant reductions in psychological distress and secondary symptoms, and improvements in overall quality of life.
详细描述
Evidence has found that living alongside a veteran suffering from mental health difficulties can have an adverse outcome on relationships and the health of family members. Military partners, in particular, have been highlighted as a high-risk group for developing mental health difficulties due to their close relationship with the veteran, exposure to adverse details of the veteran's military experiences and, in some cases, need to take on a caregiving role. Investigation of the impact on military partners suggests that they are an increased risk of depression, anxiety, alcohol use difficulties, as well as symptoms of secondary traumatization.
Despite an interest and need for mental health support among military partners, many face a range of barriers that prevent accessing and engaging in support. Such barriers include stigma around help seeking behaviors, difficulties in travelling to support venues, and work or childcare responsibilities that may limit their availability to engage with support. As such, there remains a need to make mental health support for military partners more accessible.
The Together Webinar Programme (TTP-Webinar) is a six-week online intervention developed to increase the accessibility of mental health support for military partners. TTP-Webinar was adapted from a five-week community-based TTP programme that was piloted across nine UK locations. Despite the community-based TTP programme demonstrating promising effects on mental health difficulties among military partners, the pilot revealed that many partners were unable to engage with support because of issues traveling to and from community centres around balancing other commitments.
The present study was a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed at investigating the utility of TTP-Webinar as an online intervention to increase the accessibility of support. 60 partners of veterans with PTSD and other mental health difficulties were randomised to either the TTP-Webinar intervention (n = 30) or waitlist condition (n = 30). Measures of general psychological distress, secondary trauma symptoms and quality of life were administered at baseline, end of treatment, and one-month follow-up.
研究设计
- 研究类型
- Interventional
- 分配方式
- Randomized
- 干预模型
- Parallel
- 主要目的
- Supportive Care
- 盲法
- Single (Participant)
入排标准
- 年龄范围
- 18 Years 至 —（Adult, Older Adult）
- 性别
- All
- 接受健康志愿者
- 是
入选标准
- •Be over the age of 18
- •Live in the UK
- •Currently be in relationship with a veteran
- •Provide written consent
排除标准
- 未提供
研究组 & 干预措施
The Together Webinar Programme (TTP-Webinar)
Participants receive the six weekly session TTP-Webinar intervention.
干预措施: The Together Webinar Programme (Behavioral)
Waitlist condition
Participants do not receive any intervention as part of waitlist condition. Note: Following the collection of measures at the follow-up time point, participants assigned to the waitlist condition were offered four TTP-Webinar groups to sign up to.
结局指标
主要结局
Change in symptoms of the psychological distress on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) from baseline to end of treatment to 1-month follow-up
时间窗: Baseline, end of treatment (6 weeks), and one-month follow-up.
The GHQ-12 (Goldberg \& Williams, 1988) is 12-item measure of symptoms of general psychological distress. Items are scoring using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 ('Not at all'/'Much less than usual') to 4 ('Much more than usual'/'More so than usual'), indicating how much they have been bothered by symptoms within the past month. Six positive items are reverse scored, before calculating a total score with larger scores indicating greater psychological distress.
Change in symptoms of secondary traumatization on the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) from baseline to end of treatment to 1-month follow-up
时间窗: Baseline, end of treatment (6 weeks), and one-month follow-up.
The STSS (Bride et al., 2004) is a 17-item measure assessing symptoms of secondary traumatization. Items are scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 ('Never') to 5 ('Very often'), indicating how much they have been bothered by symptoms within the past month. Total scores are created per subscales (avoidance, arousal, and intrusions) and across all subscales, with larger scores indicating greater secondary trauma symptoms.
Change in Quality of life (QoL) from baseline to end of treatment to 1-month follow-up.
时间窗: Baseline, end of treatment (6 weeks), and one-month follow-up.
QoL was assessed with a single item, using a scale ranging from 1 ('Very good') to 5 ('Very bad'). Scores were reverse scored, for larger scores to reflect greater quality of life.
次要结局
未报告次要终点
研究者
Prof. Dominic Murphy
Head of research department
Combat Stress