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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2013 Oct;81(5):890-900.
doi: 10.1037/a0033697. Epub 2013 Jul 22.

Web intervention for OEF/OIF veterans with problem drinking and PTSD symptoms: a randomized clinical trial

Deborah J Brief  1 , Amy Rubin  1 , Terence M Keane  1 , Justin L Enggasser  2 , Monica Roy  2 , Eric Helmuth  3 , John Hermos  2 , Mark Lachowicz  1 , Denis Rybin  4 , David Rosenbloom  3
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Web intervention for OEF/OIF veterans with problem drinking and PTSD symptoms: a randomized clinical trial

Deborah J Brief et al. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2013 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: Veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) commonly experience alcohol misuse and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following their return from deployment to a war zone. We conducted a randomized clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of a newly developed, 8-module, self-management web intervention (VetChange) based on motivational and cognitive-behavioral principles to reduce alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, and PTSD symptoms in returning combat veterans.

Method: Six hundred participants, recruited through targeted Facebook ads, were randomized to either an Initial Intervention Group (IIG; n = 404) or a Delayed Intervention Group (DIG; n = 196) that waited 8 weeks for access to VetChange. Primary outcome measures were Drinks per Drinking Day, Average Weekly Drinks, Percent Heavy Drinking Days, and PTSD symptoms. Intent-to-treat analyses compared changes in outcome measures over time between IIG and DIG as well as within-group changes.

Results: IIG participants demonstrated greater reductions in drinking (p < .001 for each measure) and PTSD symptoms (p = .009) between baseline and end-of-intervention than did DIG participants between baseline and the end of the waiting period. DIG participants showed similar improvements to those in IIG following participation in VetChange. Alcohol problems were also reduced within each group between baseline and 3-month follow-up.

Conclusions: Results indicate that VetChange is effective in reducing drinking and PTSD symptoms in OIF/OEF veterans. Further studies of VetChange are needed to assess web-based recruitment and retention methods and to determine VetChange's effectiveness in demographic and clinical sub-populations of returning veterans.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flowchart of participants through the trial a Approximate figures derived from web analytics estimates. Subject data records not created until study enrollment. b Most web visitors (N ≈ 7,816) left without initiating eligibility screening. c A total of 617 subjects were randomized, but 17 were excluded from analysis as potentially fraudulent (n=10) or incomplete baselines (n=7).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Assessment timeline Note. IIG = Initial Intervention Group, DIG = Delayed Intervention Group, Time1 = initial baseline for both groups. Time2 = post-intervention assessment for IIG and repeated baseline for DIG.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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