Evaluation of PTSD Family Coach, a Mobile Phone App for Family Members of Individuals With PTSD

September 3, 2015 updated by: Jason Owen, VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Pilot Evaluation of PTSD Family Coach, a Mobile Phone App for Family Members of Individuals With PTSD

The proposed pilot study is designed to test the feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of a mobile phone application (app) developed by the VA National Center for PTSD (VA NCPTSD) for use by family members of those with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The primary objective of the proposed study is to assess whether family members of veterans with PTSD find the PTSD Family Coach app to be satisfactory and feasible to use. Secondary objectives are to determine if use of the app increases family members' self-efficacy and their ability to manage their own life stress, which may in part be the result of living with someone who has PTSD.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

PTSD Family Coach is a mobile phone app for family members of individuals with PTSD. This application provides:

  • education about PTSD
  • a self-assessment tool measuring life stress
  • self-management skills to address acute distress and stress
  • direct connection to support and
  • information about VA and community resources for family members of individuals with PTSD

From this research, the investigators wish to learn whether family members of someone with PTSD find the PTSD Family Coach to be satisfactory and feasible to use. The investigators would also like to know if use of the app increases family members' knowledge of PTSD, and its treatment, and their ability to manage their own life stress, which may in part be the result of living with a Veteran with PTSD.

Currently, there are very few resources for family members of Veterans with PTSD. If this research demonstrates that PTSD Family Coach is a promising tool for family members, it has the potential to address a tremendous unmet need using a very cost-effective, scalable solution.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
242

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Menlo Park, California, United States, 94025
        • VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • currently living with a Veteran with significant PTSD symptoms
  • age 18 or older
  • own an iPhone, iPad or other iOS compatible device
  • currently experiencing at least moderate symptoms of stress

Exclusion Criteria:

  • currently enrolled in another study related to PTSD

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: PTSD Family Coach Basic
PTSD Coach basic provides an iOS mobile app with extensive information about caregiving for family members of those with PTSD and additional support resources.
Behavioral: PTSD Family Coach Basic
PTSD Family Coach mobile app is an iOS mobile phone application designed to provide information and support resources,
Other Names:
  • PTSD Family Coach app- basic version
Experimental: PTSD Family Coach Full
PTSD Family Coach full provides an iOS mobile app with extensive information about caregiving for family members of those with PTSD, additional support resources, tools for coping with caregiving-related stress, and tools for self-monitoring stress symptoms.
Behavioral: PTSD Family Coach Full
PTSD Family Coach mobile app is an iOS mobile phone application designed to provide information, support resources, tools for coping with caregiver-related stress, and tools for self-monitoring stress symptoms.
Other Names:
  • PTSD Family Coach app- full version

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Caregiver Burden (Montgomery Burden Interview)
Time Frame: 1 month
1 month
Stress (Perceived Stress Scale)
Time Frame: 1 month
1 month
Use of PTSD Family Coach Mobile App (Study-Specific Survey)
Time Frame: 1 month
1 month
Satisfaction with PTSD Family Coach Mobile App (Study-Specific Survey)
Time Frame: 1 month
1 month
Depression (PHQ-8)
Time Frame: 1 month
1 month
Anxiety (GAD)
Time Frame: 1 month
1 month

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Stigma Associated with Seeking Mental Health Care (Study-Specific Measure)
Time Frame: 1 month
1 month
Perceived Benefits of Mental Health Treatment for PTSD (Study-Specific Measure)
Time Frame: 1 month
1 month
Social Constraints (Social Constraints Scale)
Time Frame: 1 month
1 month
Partner Self-Efficacy (Study-Specific Measure)
Time Frame: 1 month
1 month
Veteran Interest in Treatment for PTSD (Study-Specific Measure)
Time Frame: 1 month
1 month

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 1, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
April 21, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 26, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 1, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 7, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 3, 2015

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 28147

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Clinical Trials on PTSD Family Coach Basic

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings