Brief Videos Delivered by Text Messages as a Public Health Intervention for PTSD in Youth
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Brief Videos Delivered by Text Message.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Adolescence, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Youth. Basic parameters: 15 years — 25 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Canada
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Brief Videos Delivered by Text Messages as a Public Health Intervention for PTSD in Youth: A Feasibility and Acceptability Randomized Trial
Overview
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if informational videos (the intervention) sent by text messages can help young people (age 15 - 25) manage symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is a small-scale trial to evaluate whether the intervention has potential to be effective, whether it is feasible to carry out a bigger study, and whether youth find the intervention acceptable.The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does the intervention help youth reduce their symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, improve how well they function day-to-day, and lead to post-traumatic growth. 2. Will it be possible to conduct a larger study on the intervention (e.g., are we able to attract participants to take part in the study; do participants follow through with the intervention and the study) and is the intervention acceptable to youth (e.g., do they watch the videos, and rate the videos as useful, interesting, understandable, and relevant)? Researchers will compare those who receive the intervention right away to those who wait to receive the intervention to see if there are differences between groups. Videos will teach youth about PTSD and provide the opportunity to practice strategies that have been shown to help with reduce symptoms of PTSD, such as exposure, reducing avoidance, social support, and coping strategies (e.g., changing your thoughts, deep breathing, and muscle relaxation). The study is fully online. Participants will be randomly placed in one of two groups: 1. Intervention Group: Gets three PTSD-related text messages per week for 10 weeks. They will also be asked to rate each of the videos on how helpful you found them. 2. Waitlist Group: Does not receive text messages until AFTER the final surveys for the study are completed (i.e., 5 months), then will receive the intervention. Everyone will be asked to complete online surveys about their mental health and functioning 3 times during the study: * Beginning of the study * 10 weeks into the study * 3 months after the videos end (end of study)
Interventions
- Behavioral Brief Videos Delivered by Text Message
The intervention consists of brief videos delivered by text message, designed to deliver psychoeducation, coping strategies, and social support guidance for youth with PTSD. The focus is to reduce avoidance behaviors, increase exposure, change cognitions and enhance social support. The text messages will follow a six-module curriculum, covering key PTSD recovery topics: 1. Psychoeducation on PTSD - Understanding symptoms, trauma responses, and brain plasticity. 2. Reducing Avoidance - Encourag
Primary outcome measures
- Change in Posttraumatic Stress as Assessed by the PTSD Checklist (PCL-5) at 10 Weeks (End of Treatment) [Time frame: From enrolment to the end of treatment at 10 weeks]
Secondary outcome measures (5)
- Change in Posttraumatic Stress as Assessed by the PTSD Checklist (PCL-5) at 3 Months After Treatment [Time frame: 3 Months After Treatment (22 weeks after enrolment)]
- Change in Anxiety Score as Measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) at 10 Weeks After Enrolment (Post-Treatment) and 3 Months After Treatment [Time frame: From enrolment to the end of treatment at 10 weeks and 3 months after treatment ends.]
- Change in Depression Score as Measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) at 10 Weeks After Enrolment (Post-Treatment) and 3 Months After Treatment [Time frame: From enrolment to the end of treatment at 10 weeks and 3 months after treatment ends.]
- Change in Functional Impairment Scores as Measured by the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) at 10 Weeks After Enrolment (Post-Treatment) and 3 Months After Treatment. [Time frame: From enrolment to the end of treatment at 10 weeks and 3 months after treatment ends.]
- Change in Posttraumatic Growth as Measured by The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory - Short Form (PTGI-SF) at 10 Weeks After Enrolment and 3 Months After Treatment [Time frame: From enrolment to the end of treatment at 10 weeks and 3 months after treatment ends.]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Likely diagnosis of PTSD as indicated by a minimum score of 31 on the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist
- Direct exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence or through witnessing, learning it happened to a close relation as assessed by the Life Events Checklist
- Between 15 and 25 years old at time of enrolment
- Access to a mobile phone and a data plan that allows them to receive text messages and videos
- Live in Canada
Exclusion criteria
- Presence of active suicidality, determined by items from the Patient Safety Screener
- Active symptoms of psychosis, indicated by a brief Psychosis Screener Questionnaire
- An inability to read and/or understand English
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Double blind
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
Study locations
Canada · 1 center
- IWK Health — Halifax
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07165782 · 1031707 · FDN148371