Vocational Empowerment Photovoice (VEP) (VEP)

September 15, 2020 updated by: Zlatka Russinova, Boston University Charles River Campus

Randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating the Efficacy of the Peer-run Vocational Empowerment Photovoice (VEP) to Increase the Capacity of Individuals With Psychiatric Disabilities to Pursue Employment

The purpose of this project is to evaluate a promising peer-run psycho-educational group intervention titled "Vocational Empowerment Photovoice (VEP)" that aims to empower individuals with the most disabling psychiatric disabilities to engage in vocational services and pursue employment through the enhancement of their vocational hope, sense of vocational identity, work motivation, work-related self-efficacy, and capacity to deal with psychiatric stigma and discrimination.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The purpose of this project is to evaluate a promising peer-run psycho-educational group intervention titled "Vocational Empowerment Photovoice (VEP)" that aims to empower individuals with the most disabling psychiatric disabilities to engage in vocational services and pursue employment through the enhancement of their vocational hope, sense of vocational identity, work motivation, work-related self-efficacy, and capacity to deal with psychiatric stigma and discrimination. The VEP program was designed and pilot tested with a small randomized study (n=51) as part of a National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) funded research and training center (RTC) on Improving the Employment Outcomes (2009-2014). VEP is a 10-week peer-run program enhanced with 3 group booster sessions and the availability of weekly individual support provided by the VEP peer-leaders in keeping with each participant's formulated vocational goals. The researchers propose to evaluate the effectiveness of the VEP intervention using a large multi-site randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a total of 160 individuals who are not engaged in vocational services or working, but express such interests. The RCT will be carried out at 2 different mental health agencies (Thresholds in Chicago, IL and Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in Long Island, NY) both of which provide supported employment services. Eighty individuals will be recruited at each of these two study sites and will be assessed at baseline and 4 post baseline follow-up points. The efficacy of the VEP intervention will be tested in regards to two types of outcomes: a) extrinsic (for example, engagement in employment services, job-seeking activities, or employment), and b) intrinsic (for example, enhanced vocational hope, sense of vocational identity, work motivation, work-related self-efficacy). The researchers propose a small qualitative sub-study to inform future implementation and scaling up of VEP based on its effectiveness. Upon completion of each wave of the RCT the researchers will conduct an approximately 90-minutes focus group with participants in the VEP program and individual interviews with the VEP peer leaders. At the conclusion of the RCT at each collaborating site, the researchers will conduct individual interviews with the VEP supervisor(s), research staff and agency senior manager(s) familiar with the study.

The study is currently approved for the Thresholds site and recruitment is under way at this site.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

147

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60613
        • Thresholds Inc.
    • Massachusetts
      • Dorchester, Massachusetts, United States, 02122
        • Baycove Human Services- Transitions of Boston
    • New York
      • Brentwood, New York, United States, 11717
        • Pilgrim Psychiatric Center

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

14 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. are 18 or older
  2. have a DSM-IV diagnosis of serious mental illness, including dual diagnosis
  3. are not working currently due to their mental illness
  4. are not receiving or in a process of receiving employment services
  5. are interested in learning about ways to pursue work in the future
  6. are fluent in English.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. co-existing physical or developmental disabilities resulting in cognitive limitations
  2. Inability to give full and knowing consent.

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Vocational Empowerment Photovoice (VEP)
The VEP program is a 10-week manualized, structured, peer-led intervention delivered in 2-hour group sessions. The VEP program integrates Photovoice methodology, Rehabilitation Readiness technology and elements of the Anti-Stigma Photovoice (ASP) curriculum previously developed and tested by the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation (BU CPR). VEP group sessions combine didactic information, Photovoice exercises, and group discussions to empower participants in pursuing employment services and opportunities, all refined with input from individuals with a lived experience.
Behavioral: Vocational Empowerment Photovoice (VEP)
The VEP program is a 10-week manualized, structured, peer-led intervention delivered in 2-hour group sessions. The VEP manual includes a Workbook for the clients and a corresponding Leader's Guide for the group peer-leaders. The VEP program integrates Photovoice methodology, Rehabilitation Readiness technology and elements of the Anti-Stigma Photovoice (ASP) curriculum previously developed and tested by the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation (BU CPR). VEP group sessions combine didactic information, Photovoice exercises, and group discussions to empower participants in pursuing employment services and opportunities, all refined with input from individuals with a lived experience.
No Intervention: Wait-list Control
Services as usual

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Engagement in employment and employment services
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 months
Measured by number of appointments with supported employment providers and days employed during each follow up period.
Baseline to 12 months
Work Hope
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 months
Measured by the Work Hope Scale
Baseline to 12 months
Vocational Identity
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 months
Measured by the Vocational Identity Scale
Baseline to 12 months
Work Motivation
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 months
Measured by the Work Motivation Scale
Baseline to 12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Belief in Work Capacity
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 months
Measured by a single item scale
Baseline to 12 months
Internalized Stigma
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 months
Measured by the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Scale
Baseline to 12 months
Empowerment
Time Frame: Baseline to 12 months
Measured by Making Decisions Empowerment Scale
Baseline to 12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Boston University Charles River Campus

Collaborators

National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research
Thresholds Inc.
Pilgrim Psychiatric Center

Investigators

  • Study Director: Zlatka Russinova, Boston University

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 (Actual)

November 11, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 12, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

May 12, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 20, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 26, 2016

First Posted (Estimate)

May 27, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 17, 2020

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 15, 2020

Last Verified

September 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 90RT5029-01-00 R3

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

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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