Development of a Multilevel Clinical Trial to Increase Implementation Knowledge and Skills Within the Army Integrated Prevention Program
Abstract
The objective of this proposal is to prepare for a clinical trial that will test whether additional training and coaching of Sexual Harassment/Assault and Response and Prevention (SHARP) personnel, to carry out prevention programming with high quality, will improve outcomes. The rationale for this proposal is that Department of Defense (DoD) needs a trained prevention workforce, but currently relies of those who have been trained primarily for improving sexual assault reporting. Further, the scope and complexity of the Uniformed Services presents unique challenges to large-scale prevention training. Training and coaching in the Getting To Outcomes (GTO) model is thought to (1) improve ability to critically review prevention programs in order to select those that have the best potential to impact real-world Soldier behaviors, (2) improve planning, (3) promote thoughtful adaptations of prevention programs to local needs, (4) increase the impact of leadership support, (5) strengthen self-evaluations and program improvements, and (6) improve ability to sustain prevention programs over time. Future Clinical Trial: We will develop a clinical trial that would impact both SHARP personnel and individual Soldiers assigned to the same units. SHARP personnel would either implement a prevention program on their own or with the assistance of GTO training and coaching. Soldiers will benefit to the degree that the selected prevention program is effective at influencing attitudes and behaviors, but that is not the primary goal of the study. We believe that GTO training will improve the ability of SHARP personnel to carry out the prevention program with high quality. We will test whether GTO training increases the quality of the prevention practice at each site. We will also test the long-term effects of GTO training. We believe that the knowledge and skills gained through GTO training and coaching will improve the general ability of SHARP personnel to identify gaps in their current prevention programming, select new high-quality programs, and implement them effectively. Over a 2-year period, we expect this increase in general knowledge and skills to affect rates of sexual harassment and sexual assault as well as changes in the unit workplace climate (i.e., the degree to which Soldiers perceive that the workplace is accepting of sexual harassment and sexual assault). Trial Planning: We will develop the clinical trial while working closely with two community advisory boards comprised of SHARP personnel to include Installation Program Managers, Garrison Sexual Assault Response Coordinators, and Victim Advocates who have SHARP assigned as a collateral duty. The purpose of the advisory boards is to co-develop the clinical trial by ensuring that the trial will be acceptable to SHARP personnel and Service Members, and feasible within U.S. Army settings. We will present different high-quality prevention programs and ask the board to select the best program. We will involve the advisory board in reviewing GTO training modifications that will be targeted to the different types of SHARP personnel. We will also ask the advisory board to consider key questions about our clinical trial design such as how to ask SHARP personnel to carry out a prevention program on their own. That is, we will ask how to increase the chance that they will prioritize the prevention program. Finally, we will ask the board to champion the trial to their own commands. Impact and Outcomes: The national priority placed by both Congress and the President on reducing sexual assault in the military may have never been higher. The Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military recognized the importance of strengthening the prevention workforce in order to address sexual assault with Line of Effort 2. Women who experience a sexual assault during active-duty service have increased odds of treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 28, 2022
- Source ID
- W81XWH2210907
Entities
People
- Justin Benzer
Organizations
- United States Army
- University of Texas at Austin