The Together Webinar Programme For Military Partners

NCT ID: NCT05013398

Last Updated: 2021-08-19

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

196 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2019-05-07

Study Completion Date

2019-09-26

Brief Summary

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Military partners are at risk of mental health difficulties, including depression, anxiety and secondary traumatization. However, many partners face a range of barriers in accessing psychological support. As such, there remains a need to investigate how to make support for military partners more accessible.

The present study was a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigating the effectiveness of The Together Webinar Programme (TTP-Webinar) in reducing psychological distress and secondary trauma symptoms and improving quality of life among partners of veterans with PTSD and other mental health difficulties. The pilot RCT compared the TTP-Webinar intervention to a waitlist condition. The primary aim was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of offering web-based support to military partners and to investigate the efficacy of the remote-access support.

It was hypothesized that, compared to the waitlist condition, the TTP-Webinar would result in significant reductions in psychological distress and secondary symptoms, and improvements in overall quality of life.

Detailed Description

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Evidence has found that living alongside a veteran suffering from mental health difficulties can have an adverse outcome on relationships and the health of family members. Military partners, in particular, have been highlighted as a high-risk group for developing mental health difficulties due to their close relationship with the veteran, exposure to adverse details of the veteran's military experiences and, in some cases, need to take on a caregiving role. Investigation of the impact on military partners suggests that they are an increased risk of depression, anxiety, alcohol use difficulties, as well as symptoms of secondary traumatization.

Despite an interest and need for mental health support among military partners, many face a range of barriers that prevent accessing and engaging in support. Such barriers include stigma around help seeking behaviors, difficulties in travelling to support venues, and work or childcare responsibilities that may limit their availability to engage with support. As such, there remains a need to make mental health support for military partners more accessible.

The Together Webinar Programme (TTP-Webinar) is a six-week online intervention developed to increase the accessibility of mental health support for military partners. TTP-Webinar was adapted from a five-week community-based TTP programme that was piloted across nine UK locations. Despite the community-based TTP programme demonstrating promising effects on mental health difficulties among military partners, the pilot revealed that many partners were unable to engage with support because of issues traveling to and from community centres around balancing other commitments.

The present study was a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) aimed at investigating the utility of TTP-Webinar as an online intervention to increase the accessibility of support. 60 partners of veterans with PTSD and other mental health difficulties were randomised to either the TTP-Webinar intervention (n = 30) or waitlist condition (n = 30). Measures of general psychological distress, secondary trauma symptoms and quality of life were administered at baseline, end of treatment, and one-month follow-up.

Conditions

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Psychological Distress

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Participants

Study Groups

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The Together Webinar Programme (TTP-Webinar)

Participants receive the six weekly session TTP-Webinar intervention.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

The Together Webinar Programme

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The TTP-Webinar consists of six hour-long sessions. Each session focuses on psychoeducation and self-management strategies for supporting veteran mental health difficulties as well as self-management tools to enhance partners' own wellbeing.

The TTP-Webinar treatment protocol incorporates a range of techniques used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Waitlist condition

Participants do not receive any intervention as part of waitlist condition. Note: Following the collection of measures at the follow-up time point, participants assigned to the waitlist condition were offered four TTP-Webinar groups to sign up to.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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The Together Webinar Programme

The TTP-Webinar consists of six hour-long sessions. Each session focuses on psychoeducation and self-management strategies for supporting veteran mental health difficulties as well as self-management tools to enhance partners' own wellbeing.

The TTP-Webinar treatment protocol incorporates a range of techniques used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

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TTP-Webinar

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Be over the age of 18
* Live in the UK
* Currently be in relationship with a veteran
* Provide written consent

Exclusion Criteria

\-
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Royal British Legion

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Combat Stress

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Prof. Dominic Murphy

Head of research department

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Dominic Murphy

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Combat Stress

Locations

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Combat Stress

Leatherhead, Surrey, United Kingdom

Site Status

Countries

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United Kingdom

References

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Thandi G, Oram S, Verey A, Greenberg N, Fear NT. Informal caregiving and intimate relationships: the experiences of spouses of UK military personnel. J R Army Med Corps. 2017 Aug;163(4):266-272. doi: 10.1136/jramc-2016-000679. Epub 2016 Dec 1.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27909070 (View on PubMed)

Yambo T, Johnson M. An integrative review of the mental health of partners of veterans with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc. 2014 Jan-Feb;20(1):31-41. doi: 10.1177/1078390313516998. Epub 2014 Jan 17.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24441511 (View on PubMed)

Ray SL, Vanstone M. The impact of PTSD on veterans' family relationships: an interpretative phenomenological inquiry. Int J Nurs Stud. 2009 Jun;46(6):838-47. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2009.01.002. Epub 2009 Feb 7.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19201406 (View on PubMed)

Sayers SL, Farrow VA, Ross J, Oslin DW. Family problems among recently returned military veterans referred for a mental health evaluation. J Clin Psychiatry. 2009 Feb;70(2):163-70. doi: 10.4088/jcp.07m03863. Epub 2009 Feb 10.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19210950 (View on PubMed)

Murphy D, Palmer E, Busuttil W. Mental Health Difficulties and Help-Seeking Beliefs within a Sample of Female Partners of UK Veterans Diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. J Clin Med. 2016 Aug 1;5(8):68. doi: 10.3390/jcm5080068.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27490576 (View on PubMed)

Murphy D, Spencer-Harper L, Turgoose D. Exploring the feasibility of supporting UK partners living alongside veterans with PTSD: A pilot study of the Together Programme (TTP). Journal of Family Medicine. 2019; 1(2): 30-41.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Hendrikx LJ, Murphy D. Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Military Partners Through the Together Webinar Program: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Ment Health. 2021 Oct 12;8(10):e25622. doi: 10.2196/25622.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 34636734 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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EGR17Q4\100016

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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