Peer Support for Whole Health for Veterans

January 27, 2026 updated by: VA Office of Research and Development

Randomized Controlled Trial of Peer Support for Whole Health

This project is evaluating a new intervention, Peer Support for Whole Health. Peer Support for Whole Health is delivered by peer support specialists, Veterans who are in recovery from mental health or substance use concerns who are employed to help other Veterans. Peer Support for Whole Health uses the Whole Health model to talk about values and self-care in all areas of life. Peer Support for Whole Health is designed to help Veterans who have difficulty with their relationships, work, or day-to-day life and may have behavioral health concerns. Peer Support for Whole Health is designed for Veterans in primary care who are not engaged in mental health or substance use treatment. The goal of this study is to find out whether Peer Support for Whole Health helps Veterans with relationships, work, or day-to-day life. This project will also study whether Peer Support for Whole Health improves well-being and mental health. Finally, this study will seek to understand how Peer Support for Whole Health works and which Veterans it helps the most.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

240

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 Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • Syracuse, New York, United States, 13210-2716
        • Syracuse VA Medical Center, Syracuse, NY
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Emily M. Johnson, PhD
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030-4211
        • Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX
        • Contact:

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Veterans
  • enrolled in primary care at one of the study sites
  • have some challenges with day-to-day life (e.g., relationships, work, school, getting things done) based on a standard questionnaire
  • have a recent primary care medical record note documenting potential behavioral health concerns or symptoms
  • fully understand the research study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • not be enrolled in current peer support services, mental health services, or other similar services
  • at risk for suicide or other high-risk concerns

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: Peer Support for Whole Health
In this arm, Veteran participants will receive Peer Support for Whole Health from VA peer support staff.
Behavioral: Peer Support for Whole Health
Veteran participants have one-on-one appointments with VA peer support staff to talk about VA Whole Health including goals and progress.
Active Comparator: Self-Directed Whole Health
In this arm, Veteran participants will receive information about Whole Health tools and resources from research staff.
Behavioral: Self-Directed Whole Health
Veteran participants have an appointment with research staff and receive information about VA Whole Health tools and resources including handouts, websites, and apps.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Inventory of Psychosocial Functioning
Time Frame: 9 months
The Inventory of Psychosocial Functioning measures all key areas of psychosocial functioning including social functioning (e.g., family, parenting, romantic relationships, friendships), vocational functioning (e.g., work and school), and self-care (e.g., chores, diet, medical care).
9 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Well-Being Signs
Time Frame: 9 months
The Well-Being Signs assess satisfaction, involvement, and functioning in important aspects of life.
9 months
Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21)
Time Frame: 9 months
The Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales-21 assess psychological distress including anxiety, depression, and stress-related symptoms.
9 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

VA Office of Research and Development

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Emily M. Johnson, PhD, Syracuse VA Medical Center, Syracuse, NY

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 (Estimated)

January 4, 2027

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2030

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 1, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 22, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 27, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 4, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 27, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • RRD4-011-25M
  • 1I01RD000397-01A (Other Grant/Funding Number: VA ORD)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Anonymous, de-identified data can be made available upon reasonable written request following conclusion of the trial. All identifiable information will be removed prior to sharing, and the minimum amount of data required to achieve the purposes of the request will be shared.

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

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 Mental Health

Clinical Trials on Peer Support for Whole Health

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

CROs by country

CROs in Austria

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Subscribe