Innovative Service Delivery for Secondary Prevention of PTSD in At-Risk OIF-OEF Service Men and Women
Abstract
Symptoms of PTSD appear to affect 15 - 30% of OIF / OEF servicemen and women (Hoge et al, 2004; Hoge et al., 2006; Seal et al., 2007; Kang et al., 2003; Iversen et al., 2005), and often effectively end their military careers at great cost to (1) the servicemen and women themselves, in terms of psychological suffering, (2) the DoD in terms of the loss of trained, skilled personnel who must be replaced by individuals who will require new investment in the training, and (3) the VAMCs in terms of providing many years of treatment for an often intractable condition. The present project used a randomized controlled design to compare in-person VS. home-telehealth delivery of evidence based treatments for depression and PTSD (behavioral activation and therapeutic exposure) in terms of each modality s ability to reduce symptoms in post-deployed OIF / OEF personnel and Veterans of Vietnam and Persian Gulf conflicts. Post-treatment, 3 month and 12 month data were available from 196 participants. Results revealed non-inferiority of either modality in terms of reducing symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and attrition. However, preliminary cost analyses revealed savings were realized for the telemedicine group, when considering VA sponsored beneficiary travel costs, and among those not completing treatment, higher numbers of sessions were received in the telemedicine group than the in person group prior to dropout.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA614427
Entities
People
- Melba A Hernandez-Tejada
- Ronald Acierno
- Wendy Muzzy