Photo-experiencing and Reflective Listening (PEARL) to Promote Healing Engagement for Survivors of Violence

Official title

Photo-experiencing and Reflective Listening (PEARL) to Promote Healing Engagement for Survivors of Violence: A Feasibility Study

Overview

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a photo-elicitation intervention called PEARL (Photo-experiencing and Reflective Listening) can promote healing engagement in survivors of interpersonal violence. It will also learn about the feasibility and acceptability of PEARL. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does PEARL reduce barriers to help-seeking for trauma? Does PEARL improve trauma coping self-efficacy? Does PEARL change post-trauma cognitions and readiness for recovery? Is PEARL feasible and acceptable to survivors of interpersonal violence? Researchers will compare people who receive PEARL immediately to people on a waitlist (who receive PEARL three months later) to see if PEARL improves healing engagement and help-seeking behaviors. Participants will: * Complete baseline surveys about their trauma history, mental health, healing, and help-seeking behaviors * Be randomly assigned to receive PEARL immediately or after a 3-month wait * Receive a photography-focusing prompt and create photos over two weeks (those in the immediate group or after the waiting period) * Participate in a reflective listening interview about their photos * Complete follow-up surveys immediately after the intervention and one month later * Participate in a one-month follow-up interview about their experience

Detailed description

This is a randomized waitlist control feasibility study of the PEARL (Photo-experiencing and Reflective Listening) intervention for women survivors of interpersonal violence. The study will enroll 40 participants recruited through local community organizations, interpersonal violence email listservs, and social media platforms.

Randomization and Study Arms:

Interested participants will complete an online baseline questionnaire through Qualtrics and be randomly assigned (1:1) to either:

1. Immediate Intervention Group (n=20): Receives PEARL within two weeks of enrollment 2. Waitlist Control Group (n=20): Receives a resource referral list (standard of care) and completes PEARL three months later

Intervention Protocol:

The PEARL intervention consists of two components:

1. Participants receive a photography-focusing prompt and have two weeks to create photographs 2. Participants complete a reflective listening interview about their photographs

Assessment Schedule:

* Baseline: Demographics, trauma history, and outcome measures * Post-intervention: Outcome measures completed immediately after the intervention (trauma coping self-efficacy, post trauma cognitions, healing) * One-month follow-up: Outcome measures and qualitative interview (trauma coping self-efficacy, post trauma cognitions, healing, help-seeking actions, depression, anxiety, PTSD).

The waitlist control group completes an additional baseline survey three months after initial enrollment, which serves as their pre-intervention assessment.

Data Analysis: Feasibility will be assessed through completion rates, and research assistant evaluations. Acceptability will be evaluated through participant surveys and follow-up interviews. Preliminary impact on healing engagement and help-seeking will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests. Qualitative data from open-ended survey questions, research assistant evaluations, and follow-up interviews will undergo thematic analysis. Quantitative and qualitative findings will be integrated to provide a comprehensive understanding of PEARL's feasibility, acceptability, and potential impact.

Community Engagement: The study incorporates feedback from Community Advisory Board (CAB) and Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) members throughout the research process. Purposive sampling strategies will be employed to achieve maximum diversity in participant age.

Interventions

• Behavioral PEARL (Photo-experiencing and Reflective Listening)
  PEARL is a two-component behavioral intervention designed to promote healing engagement among survivors of interpersonal violence. Participants receive a photography-focusing prompt and are given two weeks to create photographs that reflect their healing journey and experiences. After the two-week photography period, participants engage in a one-on-one reflective listening interview where they discuss the photographs they created and co-create a healing action plan based on these discussions. Th

Primary outcome measures

• Post-trauma Cognitions Inventory (PTCI) [Time frame: Baseline, immediately post-intervention (approximately 2-4 weeks after baseline), and 1-month follow-up (approximately 6-8 weeks after baseline)]
• Trauma Coping Self-efficacy Scale [Time frame: Baseline, immediately post-intervention (approximately 2-4 weeks after baseline), and 1-month follow-up (approximately 6-8 weeks after baseline)]
• Healing after Gender-based Violence Scale [Time frame: Baseline, immediately post-intervention (approximately 2-4 weeks after baseline), and 1-month follow-up (approximately 6-8 weeks after baseline)]

Secondary outcome measures (4)

• PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) [Time frame: Baseline and 1-month follow-up (approximately 6-8 weeks after baseline)]
• Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) [Time frame: Baseline and 1-month follow-up (approximately 6-8 weeks after baseline)]
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) [Time frame: Baseline and 1-month follow-up (approximately 6-8 weeks after baseline)]
• Trauma Recovery Actions Checklist (TRAC) [Time frame: Baseline and 1-month follow-up (approximately 6-8 weeks after baseline)]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Age 18 years or older
• History of interpersonal violence (IV) - identifies as a survivor of interpersonal violence
• Able to complete an interview in English
• Able to provide informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Under 18 years of age
• Does not identify as a woman (male participants excluded)
• No history of interpersonal violence
• Unable to complete an interview in English
• Unable to provide informed consent

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

Crossover

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Supportive care

Study locations

United States · 1 center

• Women in Transition — Philadelphia

Publications

• Sinko L, Saint Arnault D. Photo-experiencing and reflective listening: A trauma-informed photo-elicitation method to explore day-to-day health experiences. Public Health Nurs. 2021 Jul;38(4):661-670. doi: 10.1111/phn.12904. Epub 2021 Apr 4. PMID 33813744

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07277816 · 272926 · 5K01NR021275-02

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗