Together in Recovery With Veterans Through Employment (THRIVE)

Individual Placement and Support for Veterans With Opioid Use Disorder: A Mixed Methods Study

The purpose of this study is to help Veterans who have opioid use problems with gaining and maintaining meaningful employment. The investigators also want to know employment helps with other aspects of the Veteran's life including starting and staying on necessary medications, mental health needs, and feeling a part of society.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Veterans With Opioid Use Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Individual Placement and Support (IPS); Other: Treatment As Usual Vocational Rehabilitation (TAU-VR)

Detailed Description

The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the employment outcomes of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) compared to Treatment-as-Usual Vocational Rehabilitation (TAU-VR) in 120 Veterans who are recovering from opioid use disorder (OUD) over 15 months. Specifically, the investigators will see which treatment yields more weeks worked in a competitive job with the hypothesis that IPS will result in better outcomes than TAU-VR. The investigators will interview Veterans in both IPS and TAU-VR groups to investigate the contextual barriers and facilitators of implementing vocational services among Veterans with OUD with the aim to provide solutions and leverage facilitators of success as the VHA expands supported employment services to a new priority population. Investigators will evaluate the impact of vocational services on adherence to prescribed treatment and OUD relapse rates. This study is especially timely given the societal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment and occupational functioning.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 123
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Alabama
    • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35233-1927
      • Birmingham VA Medical Center, Birmingham, AL
    • Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, 35404-5015
      • Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center, Tuscaloosa, AL

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 19 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• age 19* (<19 year of age in the state of AL is defined minor)
• DSM-5 Axis I diagnosis of OUD
• currently unemployed or underemployed, defined as working <20hrs/week in a meaningful competitive job for a wage, salary, or commission
• expression of interest in competitive employment; and willing and able to give informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• current diagnosis of psychotic disorders since these Veterans already can receive IPS in usual care at TVAMC and BVAMC
• diagnosis of dementia (evidenced in the medical record)
• presence of current severe and unstable medical condition or terminal illness, that would contraindicate study participation or expose them to an undue risk

• unlikely that participant can complete the study

  • e.g., expected deployment, incarceration, long-term hospitalization, or relocation from the vicinity
• active suicidal or homicidal ideation making it unsafe for Veteran to be included
• current participation in another vocational interventional trial

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Individual Placement and Support; The IPS model involves the following important domains: competitive employment, eligibility based on client choice of employment, integration of IPS and treatment team personalized counseling, rapid job search, systematic job development, and time-unlimited and individualized support.	Other: Individual Placement and Support (IPS); The IPS model involves the following important domains: competitive employment, eligibility based on client choice of employment, integration of IPS and treatment team personalized counseling, rapid job search, systematic job development, and time-unlimited and individualized support.
Active Comparator: Treatment As Usual Vocational Rehabilitation (TAU-VR); TAU-VR Services may include 1) Compensated Work Therapy-Transitional Work (CWT-TW) assignment in a set-aside, minimum-wage, short-term job, typically in the VA setting (approximately 50% of the Veterans randomized to TW in past studies conducted by the investigators actually engaged in TW assignment) or 2) CWT-Community-Based Employment Services (CWT-CBES) which involves a community job search, placement in a competitive job, with limited follow-along support that typically ends after the Veteran is working in his/her first job	Other: Treatment As Usual Vocational Rehabilitation (TAU-VR); TAU-VR Services may include 1) Compensated Work Therapy-Transitional Work (CWT-TW) assignment in a set-aside, minimum-wage, short-term job, typically in the VA setting (approximately 50% of the Veterans randomized to TW in past studies conducted by the investigators actually engaged in TW assignment) or 2) CWT-Community-Based Employment Services (CWT-CBES) which involves a community job search, placement in a competitive job, with limited follow-along support that typically ends after the Veteran is working in his/her first job

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
number of weeks worked	A "week worked" is defined as working either part time or full time in a competitive job during a Sunday to Saturday 7-day window. Competitive employment is defined as a job that pays at least minimum wage or is based on salary or commission, is based in a setting alongside others without disabilities, and is not reserved for people with disabilities	15 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Quality of Life	Veteran quality of life will be measures by a 16-item self-report quality of life scale by Burckhardt and Anderson. Scores range from 16 to 112. Higher numbers mean better quality of life. According to the authors, the average score of a healthy adult is 90. Therefore anything above 90 should be considered good.	15 months
social support	the Veterans perceived social support will be measured by the 37-item self-report community assessment inventory by Salari et al. There are four domains: household, (six items), family (10 items), friends 8 items), and community (13 items). scores can be calculated for each domain or on a total scale. for the total scale scores range from. Higher numbers mean higher perceived social support. No specific guidance on what is considered good or poor social support.	15 months
Depression	the Veterans depressive symptoms will be measured by the 9-item self-report Patient Health Questionnaire-9 by Pfitzer. Scores range from 1-27. Higher numbers mean more depressive symptoms. 1-4 is considered minimal depression; 5-9 is considered mild depression; 10-14 is considered moderate depression; 15-19 is considered moderately severe depression; and 20-27 is considered severe depression.	15 months
Anxiety	the Veterans anxiety will be measured by the 7-item self-report Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 questionnaire by Spitzer et al. Scores range from zero to 21. Higher numbers mean more anxiety. zero to 4 is considered minimal anxiety; 5-9 is considered mild anxiety; 10-14 is considered moderate anxiety, and 15-21 is considered severe anxiety.	15 months
Resilience	the Veterans resilience will be measured by the 6-item self-report Brief Resilience Scale questionnaire by Smith et al. scores range from zero to 30 and then averaged by the number of questions answered. Therefore final scores averages range rom zero to 5. Higher mean scores reflect more resilience. The authors of the questionnaire do not provide any guidance on what is considered high, medium, or low resilience.	15 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
suicide risk	the Veterans suicide risk will be measured by the self-report Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS). The C-SSRS has three subscales' suicidal ideation, intensity of ideation, and suicidal behavior. Suicidal ideation subscale has 5 questions (yes/no). Intensity is rated 1-5 with most severe at 5; frequency is rated zero to 4 (0=not applicable; 1=only one time; 2=a few time; 3=a lot; 4=all the time). Suicidal behavior subscale is divided into actual attempt, interrupted attempt, aborted attempt or self-interrupted attempt, preparatory acts or behavior, and suicide. This is not a scored measure. This is a safety measure.	15-months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Mercy N Mumba, RN, Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center, Tuscaloosa, AL

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 16, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 19, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 19, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): May 24, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 19, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 16, 2026
• Last Verified: March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: mental health; opioid use disorder; Veteran; social support; employment
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Narcotic-Related Disorders; Mental Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Behavior; Personal Satisfaction; Opioid-Related Disorders; Psychological Well-Being; Patient Care; Health Services; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services; Palliative Care; Therapeutics
• Other Study ID Numbers: D3656-R

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

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