Using PTSD Coach in primary care with and without clinician support: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Abstract Objective This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and potential effectiveness of two approaches to using the PTSD Coach mobile application in primary care: Self-Managed PTSD Coach and Clinician-Supported PTSD Coach. This study also aims to gather preliminary data to investigate if clini...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:General hospital psychiatry 2016, Vol.38, p.94-98
Main Authors: Possemato, Kyle, Ph.D, Kuhn, Eric, Ph.D, Johnson, Emily, Ph.D, Hoffman, Julia E., Psy.D, Owen, Jason E., Ph.D, Kanuri, Nitya, B.A, De Stefano, Leigha, B.A, Brooks, Emily, B.A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Cognitive Therapy - methods
Feasibility Studies
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Mobile Applications
Pilot Projects
Primary care
Primary Health Care - methods
Psychiatry
PTSD
Self Care - methods
Smartphone
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - therapy
Treatment Outcome
Veterans
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Summary:Abstract Objective This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and potential effectiveness of two approaches to using the PTSD Coach mobile application in primary care: Self-Managed PTSD Coach and Clinician-Supported PTSD Coach. This study also aims to gather preliminary data to investigate if clinician support improves the benefits of using PTSD Coach on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity and specialty mental healthcare utilization. Method Twenty primary care veterans with PTSD symptoms were randomized to either Self-Managed PTSD Coach consisting of one 10-min session providing instructions for application use or Clinician-Supported PTSD Coach consisting of four 20-min sessions focused on setting symptom reduction goals and helping veterans fully engage with application content. Results Research procedures and intervention conditions appear feasible as indicated by high rates of assessment and intervention retention and high clinician fidelity and satisfaction. Both treatments resulted in reductions in PTSD symptoms, with 7 Clinician-Supported PTSD Coach and 3 Self-Managed PTSD Coach participants reporting clinically significant improvements. Clinician-Supported PTSD Coach resulted in more specialty PTSD care use postintervention and possibly greater reductions in PTSD symptoms. Conclusions Both PTSD Coach interventions are feasible and potentially helpful. The addition of clinician support appears to increase the effectiveness of self-management alone. A larger-scale randomized controlled trial is warranted to confirm these encouraging preliminary findings.
ISSN:0163-8343
1873-7714
DOI:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2015.09.005