Impact of Group Motivational Interviewing and In-Home-Messaging-Devices for Dually Diagnosed Veterans

Summary

Two approaches for providing evidence-based substance abuse treatment (EBT), group motivational interviewing (GMI) and the In-Home-Messaging-Device (IHMD), are interventions that have the characteristic ability for increasing accessibility to evidence-based treatment among patients with substance use problems and are proposed for investigation. GMI is based on motivational interviewing, an intervention that has shown consistent significant effects in promoting treatment retention and reduced substance use among individuals with substance use disorders, and is delivered in a group format. IHMD is a user-friendly computerized Tele-mental Health communication tool that allows interaction through the telephone line between a Veteran and the health care provider in an individual's home or residential placement. The current proposal aims to determine whether GMI and IHMD lead to a significantly greater increase in treatment engagement and reduction in alcohol use compared to a treatment control condition (TCC) among Veterans with a substance use problem and a co-existing psychiatric disorder.

Conditions

• Alcohol Dependence
• Dual Diagnosis
• Drug Dependence

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Arm 1 GMI

Participants randomized to GMI received four structured, back-to-back, 75-minute sessions in one week consistent with the central principles and spirit of MI (Miller \& Rollnick 2013) and based on a manualized protocol (Martino \& Santa Ana 2013; Santa Ana \& Martino, 2009). Designed for dually diagnosed patients, a focus of the intervention is to examine the relationship between the substance use and the co-existing psychiatric disorder(s) and the importance of proactively treating both conditions.

BEHAVIORAL

Arm 2 IHMD

Participants randomized to IHMD received a 27 day VA Care Coordination Home Telehealth (CCHT) program targeting acute recovery from alcohol and other drug disorders. IHMD consisted of daily assessment combined with dialogues consisting of motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, and 12-step (mutual self-help) facilitation.

BEHAVIORAL

Arm 3 TCC

TCC consisted of a 4-session psychoeducational group (75 minutes per session). Material was delivered using a power point presentation on topics

Sponsors & Collaborators

• VA Office of Research and Development

  lead FED

Principal Investigators

• Elizabeth J. Santa Ana, PhD MA BA · Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, Charleston, SC

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

70 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2010-05-03

Primary Completion

2013-06-30

Completion

2013-09-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations