Telemedicine and Anger Management Groups With PTSD Veterans in the Hawaiian Islands

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Trial

Official title:

Telemedicine and Anger Management Groups for PTSD Veterans in the Hawaiian Islands

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00122109
• Other study ID #: TEL 03-080
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: July 18, 2005
• Last updated: April 6, 2015
• Start date: August 2005
• Est. completion date: December 2009

Study information

• Verified date: August 2014
• Source: VA Office of Research and Development
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Federal Government
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Telemedicine has the potential to profoundly influence the delivery of specialized care to the remote veteran population suffering with PTSD. Preliminary research supports telemedicine technology as a possible solution to improve access to mental health services for veterans with PTSD. The proposed research is a treatment-outcome study that will assess the clinical efficacy of conducting an Anger Management Therapy (AMT) group treatment intervention using a videoteleconferencing (VTC) modality as compared to the traditional in-person modality with veterans who have PTSD and reside in remote locations on the Hawaiian Islands. AMT is a manual-guided cognitive-behavioral, skill based group intervention that has been used nationwide in VA substance abuse programs and most recently has been adopted by many VA PTSD Clinical Teams to treat anger-related to the sequelae of PTSD.

Description:

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent problem among military troops. Recovery from combat-related PTSD is often complicated by problems with anger. Veterans with difficulties managing PTSD-related anger may be particularly likely to live in remote geographical regions where access to specialized mental health care is often limited. Telemental health (TMH) has been touted as a potential means of increasing access to care in rural or remote areas. Objectives: This study compared the effectiveness of group Anger Management Therapy (AMT) delivered via videoteleconferencing (VTC) and in-person delivery in a sample of rural combat veterans with PTSD. The long-range objective of this project was to develop an empirically sound TMH protocol that will facilitate the extension of manual guided clinical services to remote sites via VTC. We hypothesized that providing a manualized group therapy intervention via VTC would result in similar reductions in anger symptoms as obtained from traditional in-person care. Further, we hypothesized that key process indicators (i.e., attrition, adherence, satisfaction, and therapeutic alliance) would not be significantly different between the VTC and in-person conditions. The specific objectives of this project were to: a) determine if group AMT delivered via VTC is as effective as the same intervention delivered in-person on clinical outcomes measuring reductions in anger symptoms and b) determine if group AMT delivered via VTC is as effective as the same intervention delivered in-person on group process outcomes. Methods: A randomized controlled non-inferiority trial of 125 male veterans with PTSD and anger difficulties was conducted at three Department of Veterans Affairs' outpatient clinics. Participants were randomly assigned to receive AMT delivered in a group setting with the therapist either in-person (N= 64) or via VTC (N= 61). Participants were assessed at baseline, mid-treatment, post-treatment, and 3 and 6-months post-treatment. The primary clinical outcome was reduction of anger difficulties, as measured by the Anger Expression and Trait Anger subscales of the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2) and the Novaco Anger Total Scale (NAS). Process variables were measured to assess the feasibility of AMT delivered via VTC. SAS MEANS procedure was used to calculate means and standard deviations for change from baseline at subsequent assessment points for both intent-to-treat and per-protocol analysis.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 125
• Est. completion date: December 2009
• Est. primary completion date: October 2008
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Male
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• male

• PTSD diagnosis

• anger level at Staxi Trait Score=22 or higher

• stable medication regime

Exclusion Criteria:

• current substance dependence

• current psychosis

• suicidal

• homicidal

• cognitive impairment

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Stress Disorders, Traumatic

Intervention

Behavioral:
• 12 sessions Anger Management Therapy.
Anger Management Treatment (AMT), a 12-session manual-driven cognitive-behavioral intervention developed and found efficacious for anger management treatment with substance abuse veterans and has been applied to the PTSD population. AMT is highly structured with both psychoeducational and psychotherapy components. AMT is aimed at reducing anger affect and aggression through increasing anger management skills.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	VA Pacific Islands Health Care System, Honolulu, HI	Honolulu	Hawaii

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
VA Office of Research and Development

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (8)

Greene CJ, Morland LA, Durkalski VL, Frueh BC. Noninferiority and equivalence designs: issues and implications for mental health research. J Trauma Stress. 2008 Oct;21(5):433-9. doi: 10.1002/jts.20367. — View Citation

Greene CJ, Morland LA, Macdonald A, Frueh BC, Grubbs KM, Rosen CS. How does tele-mental health affect group therapy process? Secondary analysis of a noninferiority trial. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2010 Oct;78(5):746-50. doi: 10.1037/a0020158. — View Citation

Gros DF, Gros K, Acierno R, Frueh BC, Moreland L. Relation between treatment satisfaction and treatment outcome in veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of psychopathology and behavioral assessment. 2013 Jun 28; 35(4):522-30.

Macdonald A, Greene CJ, Torres JG, Frueh BC, Morland LA. Concordance between clinician-assessed and self-report ratings of posttraumatic stress disorder across three ethnoracial groups. Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy. 2012 Ja

Mackintosh MA, Morland LA, Kloezeman K, Greene CJ, Rosen CS, Elhai JD, Frueh BC. Predictors of anger treatment outcomes. J Clin Psychol. 2014 Oct;70(10):905-13. doi: 10.1002/jclp.22095. Epub 2014 Apr 17. — View Citation

Morland LA, Greene CJ, Grubbs K, Kloezeman K, Mackintosh MA, Rosen C, Frueh BC. Therapist adherence to manualized cognitive-behavioral therapy for anger management delivered to veterans with PTSD via videoconferencing. J Clin Psychol. 2011 Jun;67(6):629-3 — View Citation

Morland LA, Greene CJ, Rosen CS, Foy D, Reilly P, Shore J, He Q, Frueh BC. Telemedicine for anger management therapy in a rural population of combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized noninferiority trial. J Clin Psychiatry. 2010 Ju — View Citation

Morland LA, Raab M, Mackintosh MA, Rosen CS, Dismuke CE, Greene CJ, Frueh BC. Telemedicine: a cost-reducing means of delivering psychotherapy to rural combat veterans with PTSD. Telemed J E Health. 2013 Oct;19(10):754-9. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2012.0298. Epub 2 — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	State-Trait Anger Inventory (STAXI-2) Anger Expression Index	Anger expression was measured using the STAXI-2's 32-item Anger Expression Index (range 0 - 96). The STAXI-2 subscale have robust psychometric properties including high internal consistency, external validity, and construct validity. The Anger Expression Index provides a general measure of anger expression; assessing one's experience, expression and efforts to control anger. Higher scores indicate more problematic levels of anger and its expression.	Baseline	No
Primary	State-Trait Anger Inventory (STAXI-2) Anger Expression Subscale	Anger expression was measured using the STAXI-2's 32-item Anger Expression Index (range 0 - 96). The STAXI-2 subscale have robust psychometric properties including high internal consistency, external validity, and construct validity. The Anger Expression Index provides a general measure of anger expression; assessing one's experience, expression and efforts to control anger. Higher scores indicate more problematic levels of anger and its expression.	Post-treatment (2 weeks following last treatment session)	No
Primary	State-Trait Anger Inventory (STAXI-2) Anger Expression Subscale	Anger expression was measured using the STAXI-2's 32-item Anger Expression Index (range 0 - 96). The STAXI-2 subscale have robust psychometric properties including high internal consistency, external validity, and construct validity. The Anger Expression Index provides a general measure of anger expression; assessing one's experience, expression and efforts to control anger. Higher scores indicate more problematic levels of anger and its expression.	3-month Follow Up	No
Primary	State-Trait Anger Inventory (STAXI-2) Anger Expression Subscale	Anger expression was measured using the STAXI-2's 32-item Anger Expression Index (range 0 - 96). The STAXI-2 subscale have robust psychometric properties including high internal consistency, external validity, and construct validity. The Anger Expression Index provides a general measure of anger expression; assessing one's experience, expression and efforts to control anger. Higher scores indicate more problematic levels of anger and its expression.	6-month Follow Up	No
Primary	Novaco Anger Scale (NAS)	Anger disposition was assessed using the total scale score from the Novaco Anger Scale. This 60-item measure (range = 60 - 180) is a well validated self-report instrument designed to measure cognitive, arousal, and behavioral aspects of anger in both clinical and non-patient populations. Higher scores indicate more anger-related symptoms.	Baseline	No
Primary	Novaco Anger Scale (NAS)	Anger disposition was assessed using the total scale score from the Novaco Anger Scale. This 60-item measure (range = 60 - 180) is a well validated self-report instrument designed to measure cognitive, arousal, and behavioral aspects of anger in both clinical and non-patient populations. Higher scores indicate more anger-related symptoms.	Post-treatment (2 weeks following last treatment session)	No
Primary	Novaco Anger Scale (NAS)	Anger disposition was assessed using the total scale score from the Novaco Anger Scale. This 60-item measure (range = 60 - 180) is a well validated self-report instrument designed to measure cognitive, arousal, and behavioral aspects of anger in both clinical and non-patient populations. Higher scores indicate more anger-related symptoms.	3-Month Follow Up	No
Primary	Novaco Anger Scale (NAS)	Anger disposition was assessed using the total scale score from the Novaco Anger Scale. This 60-item measure (range = 60 - 180) is a well validated self-report instrument designed to measure cognitive, arousal, and behavioral aspects of anger in both clinical and non-patient populations. Higher scores indicate more anger-related symptoms.	6-Month Follow Up	Yes
Secondary	PTSD Checklist-military Version (PCL-M)	Self report that measures severity of PTSD symptoms. The PCL-M measures the 17 cardinal symptoms of PTSD as described in the DSM-IV-TR. The scale ranges from 0 - 85 with higher scores indicating worse PTSD symptoms. PTSD symptoms were measured at baseline and post-treatment only.	Baseline	No
Secondary	PTSD Checklist-military Version (PCL-M)	Self report that measures severity of PTSD symptoms. The PCL-M measures the 17 cardinal symptoms of PTSD as described in the DSM-IV-TR. The scale ranges from 0 - 85 with higher scores indicating worse PTSD symptoms. PTSD symptoms were measured at baseline and post-treatment only.	Post-treatment (2 weeks following last treatment session)	No

External Links

•   National Center for PTSD provides and comprehensive information on the assessment, treatment, and epidemiology of Posttraumatic stress disorder