Evaluation of Trauma Center-Based Intervention for Adolescent Traumatic Injury Survivors

Evaluation of Trauma Center-Based, Technology Enhanced Stepped Care Intervention for Adolescent Traumatic Injury Survivors.

Pediatric traumatic injury (i.e., injury of sudden onset and severity requiring immediate attention) is the leading cause of death and morbidity among US adolescents and are associated with mental health and health risk outcomes, including posttraumatic stress and depression (affecting between 19-42%), deficits in physical recovery, social functioning and quality of life, which if unaddressed, may contribute to increased use of health care services. The investigators partnered with three accredited Level I and II pediatric trauma centers to conduct a multi-site hybrid 1 effectiveness-implementation trial with 300 adolescent (ages 12-17) traumatic injury patients to assess the extent to which the Trauma Resilience and Recovery Program (TRRP), a scalable and sustainable, technology-enhanced, multidisciplinary stepped model of care, promotes improvement in quality of life and emotional recovery and gather preliminary data on the potential for TRRP to be implemented in other Level I trauma centers. Directly in line with NICHD's Pediatric Trauma and Critical Illness Research and Training (PTCIB) Strategic Research and Training agenda, this study will provide valuable data on the efficacy, preliminary effectiveness and potential for implementation of an innovative, cost-effective, sustainable technology-enhanced intervention designed to address the unique needs of adolescent injury patients and mitigate short- and long-term impact of injury on mental health, quality of life, and overall well-being.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Technology; Adolescents; Traumatic Injury
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: TRRP; Behavioral: Enhanced Usual Care

Detailed Description

Pediatric traumatic injury (i.e., injury of sudden onset and severity requiring immediate attention) is the leading cause of death and morbidity among US adolescents and are associated with mental health and health risk outcomes. Pediatric traumatic injuries are associated with medical and societal costs of $87 billion and elevates risk for a wide range of health risk consequences that affect quality of life, physical recovery, social functioning, and return to previous activities. The prevalence of PTSD and depression is high among pediatric traumatic injury patients; however, most pediatric trauma centers don't have the resources to implement models of care that address mental health following injury. Current guidelines by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma strongly recommend screening and addressing emotional recovery in traumatic injury patients. The ACS Committee on Trauma has identified this as a priority and likely will begin to mandate mental health programs in Level I and II pediatric trauma centers nationally. It is therefore critical that policy and practice is guided by the implementation and evaluation of scalable and sustainable models of care. In 2015 the investigators launched the Trauma Resilience and Recovery Program (TRRP), a scalable and sustainable, technology-enhanced, multidisciplinary stepped model of care - one of the few in the US - that provides early intervention and direct services to improve access to evidence-based mental health care after traumatic injury for children, adults and families. This model of care has been found to be feasible and acceptable to adolescent patients (ages 12-17) at each level of service. TRRP includes 3 major steps: (1) in-hospital education, brief risk reduction session, and tracking patients' emotional recovery via an automated text-messaging system, (2) conducting a 30-day screen via telephone to identify patients who are good candidates for psychological treatment, and (3) providing referral to best-practice telehealth-based or in-person assessment and treatment. The investigators partnered with three accredited Level I and II pediatric trauma centers and propose a multi-site hybrid 1 effectiveness-implementation trial with 300 adolescent (ages 12-17) traumatic injury patients to: 1) assess the extent to which TRRP promotes improvement in quality of life and emotional recovery and 2) gather preliminary data on the potential for TRRP to be implemented in other Level I trauma centers. Directly in line with NICHD's Pediatric Trauma and Critical Illness Research and Training (PTCIB) Strategic Research and Training agenda, this study will provide valuable data on the efficacy, preliminary effectiveness and potential for implementation of an innovative, cost-effective, sustainable technology-enhanced intervention designed to address the unique needs of adolescent injury patients and mitigate short- and long-term impact of injury on mental health, quality of life, and overall well-being.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 300
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Tatiana M Davidson, PhD; Phone Number: 843-792-1866; Email: davidst@musc.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Sarah German, BS; Phone Number: 843-792-0979; Email: germansa@musc.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • South Carolina
    • Charleston, South Carolina, United States, 29466
      • Recruiting
      • Medical University of South Carolina
      • Contact: Tatiana M Davidson, PhD; Phone Number: 843-792-1866; Email: davidst@musc.edu
      • Contact: Ken Ruggiero, PhD; Email: ruggierk@musc.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 12 years to 17 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• adolescent ages 12-17 admitted following traumatic injury
• scored significantly on the peritraumatic distress scale (PDI / ITSS)

Exclusion Criteria:

• if the injury was self-inflicted
• injuries are so severe, they prevent participation (e.g., head or spinal cord injuries that prevent verbal communication)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Enhanced Usual Care; Receive brief education about mental health after traumatic injury, educational materials about mental health recovery, and local referral information to assist treatment-seeking patients in seeking care	Behavioral: Enhanced Usual Care; Participants will receive an educational flyer with service referrals
Experimental: Trauma Resilience and Recovery Program (TRRP); Enrollment in TRRP which includes 3 major steps: (1) in-hospital education, brief risk reduction session, and tracking patients' emotional recovery via an automated text-messaging system, (2) conducting a 30-day screen via telephone to identify patients who are good candidates for psychological treatment, and (3) providing referral to formal mental health services, if needed.	Behavioral: TRRP; Receive TRRP services

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The Child PTSD Symptom Scale, Caregiver/Child Version (CPSS)	The CPSS is a 26-item measure to assess PTSD diagnostic criteria and severity in youth. Responses are assessed using a 4-point Likert scale and a cutoff score of 31 can be used for identifying a probable PTSD diagnosis in children.	3 months post-baseline assessment
The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-DC)	This is a 20-item measure of depression with strong psychometric properties. Responses are assessed using a 4-point Likert scale and a cutoff score of 15 is suggestive of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents.	3 months post-baseline assessment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Kessler 6	This is a 6-item well-validated screening scale for nonspecific distress that demonstrates solid psychometric properties. Responses are assessed on a 5-point Likert scale and scores 13 or higher are suggestive of severe mental illness.	Baseline, 3, 6, and 12-month post-baseline assessment
Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI)	This is a 13-item measure with strong psychometric properties used to assess distress at the time of injury. Responses are on a 4-point Likert scale and scores above 15 are suggestive of peritraumatic distress. This measure has been validated with child traumatic injury survivors.	Baseline
Injured Trauma Survivor Screen (ITSS)	This is a 9-item measure used to assess risk for development of posttraumatic stress symptoms following injury. Responses are in Yes/No format and a score of 2 on the PTSD questions suggest higher risk of developing PTSD and a score of 2 or more on the depression questions indicate higher risk for development of depression.	Baseline
The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption (AUDIT-C)	This is a 3-item validated screen that identifies hazardous drinkers. The AUDIT-C is scored on a scale of 0-12 (scores of 0 reflect no alcohol use). In men, a score of 4 or more is considered positive; in women, a score of 3 or more is considered positive. Generally, the higher the AUDIT-C score, the more likely it is that the patient's drinking is affecting his/her health and safety.	Baseline, 3, 6, and 12-month post-baseline assessment
Social Support Questionnaire, Short Form (SSQ6)	This is a 6-item measure of social support that includes both availability and satisfaction with social support.	Baseline, 3, 6, and 12-month post-baseline assessment
Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, Short Form (Peds QL-SF15)	This is a 15-item measure to assess health related QoL in youth with acute/chronic health conditions. Responses are assessed using a 5-point Likert scale with higher scores being indicative of higher health-related quality of life.	Baseline, 3, 6, and 12-month post-baseline assessment

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Medical University of South Carolina
• Collaborators: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); Boston Children's Hospital; Prisma Health-Upstate; Children's of Alabama
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Tatiana Davidson, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 8, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 8, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): October 21, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 11, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 8, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Mental Disorders; Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Wounds and Injuries; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Other Study ID Numbers: 111879; 1R01HD102336-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No