Treating Earthquake in Nepal Trauma (TENT) Trial 2016 — TENT2016  

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Clinical Trial

Official title: The Effectiveness of 4-session Narrative Exposure Therapy and 2-session Group Control-focused Behavioural Treatment on PTSD in Nepal Earthquake Survivors After 12 Months: Study Protocol for the Randomised Waiting-list Controlled Trial

Status Not yet recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether two types of short-term trauma-focused therapies (individual Narrative Exposure Therapy and group-based Control-Focused Behavioural Treatment) are effective in the treatment of chronic PTSD in earthquake survivors of Nepal.

Clinical Trial Description

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common mental health disorder after natural disasters. Without treatment survivors of earthquake would continue suffering from PTSD for many years. There are not many short-term trauma-focused psychosocial therapies that have been examined after natural disasters in developing countries. This study investigates the effectiveness of a 4-session revised narrative exposure therapy (NET-R), and 2-session group-based control-focused behavioural treatment (CFBT-R) delivered by non-specialists with minimum supervision.

Methods/Design: Participants would be identified and recruited through a door-to-door survey of families severely affected by the 2015 earthquake in Bhaktpur municipality of Nepal. PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) will be used to screen all adult survivors (aged 18 and above) for the possible presence of PTSD, and the CAPS-5 interview will be used for the diagnosis of current PTSD. Investigators aim to include 240 consenting participants in a single blind randomised controlled clinical trial. All participants will be randomly allocated to one of three treatment conditions (N = 80 each): 4-session revised narrative exposure therapy (NET-R), 2-session group-based control-focused behavioural treatment (CFBT-R) involving instructions to conduct self-exposure, or a 3-month waiting list. In both NET-R and CFBT-R interventions, treatment sessions will last 90 minutes; NET-R will be delivered within a week while CFBT-R will be done over 2 weeks. All participants will be subjected to blind assessments for PTSD symptom severity with CAPS-5 and Fear and Avoidance questionnaire at pre-treatment (T0) and 3-month post-treatment (T1).

Discussion: The results from the post-treatment measurement would provide strong empirical reference of the safety and effectiveness of trauma-focused short-term therapies (NET-R and CFBT-R) for mass trauma survivors in developing countries like Nepal. It may also provide information on who may benefit most from which type of intervention. ;

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Single Blind (Outcomes Assessor), Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
• Stress Disorders, Traumatic

• NCT number: NCT02598024
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Nepalese Psychological Association
• Contact: Suraj Shakya, MA
• Phone: +977 1 4281529
• Email: surajshakya2002@yahoo.com
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: March 2016
• Completion date: October 2016