Efficacy Trial of Warrior Check-Up

May 26, 2015 updated by: Denise Walker, University of Washington

Motivating Treatment Seeking and Behavior Change by Untreated Military Personnel Abusing Alcohol or Drugs

This study will develop and test a brief telephone-delivered motivational enhancement intervention for substance abusing military personnel who are not currently in treatment. The hypotheses being tested are that this intervention will prompt a willingness to participate voluntarily in a self-appraisal of substance abuse behavior and consequences, self-initiated change or enrollment in a treatment or self-help program, and cessation of abuse of alcohol or other drugs.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The health and well-being of military personnel, and consequently the capacity for optimal functioning of military units, are compromised by the abuse of alcohol and/or other drugs. Rates of heavy drinking are higher among military personnel than in the general population and are even higher among recently deployed personnel.

While counseling can be effective, most substance abusers do not tend to voluntarily seek treatment. Moreover, military personnel encounter more real and perceived barriers to seeking treatment.

The substance abuse field is increasingly focusing on developing interventions for those at early stages of readiness to change, i.e., those contemplating but not yet committed to change. A brief, telephone-delivered motivational enhancement intervention (MET) called a "check-up," has shown promise in promoting self-initiated behavior change as well as voluntary treatment entry, enhanced retention, and more successful outcomes for substance abuse.

Adapting the "check-up" for application with military personnel is warranted for three key reasons: (1) it has the potential of overcoming barriers to treatment-seeking, i.e., stigma and apprehension of a negative impact on one's military career; (2) it has the potential of attracting voluntary participation; and (3) protocols for disseminating this low cost intervention for use with deployed military can readily be developed and evaluated.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

242

Phase

  • Phase 2

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
    • Washington
      • Seattle, Washington, United States, 98105
        • University of Washington Innovative Programs Research Group

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. current abuse or dependence on one or more substances
  2. not currently enrolled in a counseling program focusing on substance abuse
  3. currently serving in the Army or other branch of the military.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. non-fluency in English
  2. evidence of psychosis

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

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Education
Behavioral: Education
Participants will receive educational information on the health, psychological, social, and legal consequences of substance abuse. Included in the session will be: legal and behavioral definitions of SA, the social and legal consequences of SA, impact of SA on military duty, a review of the policies on substance use in the military, and treatment resources. The session will be conducted via the telephone and will last from 30-60 minutes. Counselors will present information in a didactic manner and will avoid the use of Motivational Interviewing skills (reflective listening, developing discrepancy, reinforcing participant statements regarding change).
Experimental: Motivational Enhancement Therapy
Behavioral: Motivational Enhancement Therapy
MET, a 30-60 minute telephone session, seeks to increase motivation for change by highlighting inconsistencies between substance use behaviors and beliefs and negative consequences experienced as a result of the behaviors. The counselor will guide the participant in reviewing the Personal Feedback Report (PFR), using MI strategies to elicit the participant's reactions and foster motivation for change. The PFR will show the participant's self-reported alcohol and drug use behavior, consequences of SA, and the participant's perceived and actual descriptive norms for SA behavior. The second phase will target strengthening commitment to change. Counselors will explore with participants the pros and cons of seeking treatment. As the participant verbalizes potential benefits of learning more about treatment, the counselor will use MI skills to encourage elaboration of his/her thinking with the goal of tipping the scale toward a decision to consider taking steps toward treatment.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Form 90D
Time Frame: 3 months
Structured interview that uses a timeline follow-back procedure to elicit detailed daily information on the use of alcohol and other drugs.
3 months
Inventory of Drug Use Consequences
Time Frame: 3 months
A 50-item inventory of consequences related to alcohol and drug use.
3 months
Treatment Seeking and Preparation Behaviors Questionnaire
Time Frame: 3 months
Assesses treatment-seeking attitudes, intentions, and behaviors.
3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale
Time Frame: 3 months
19-item questionnaire that assesses readiness to make changes in alcohol or drug use behaviors.
3 months
Drinking Norms Rating Form
Time Frame: 3 months
Participant estimates of prevalence and frequency/volume of alcohol/drug consumption by the average person and the average person in the military.
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of Washington

Collaborators

U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Denise D Walker, PhD, University of Washington School of Social Work

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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

October 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 14, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 20, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

May 21, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

May 27, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 26, 2015

Last Verified

May 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 37278-C

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.

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