The Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5): Development and Evaluation Within a Veteran Primary Care Sample.

BACKGROUND: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is associated with increased health care utilization, medical morbidity, and tobacco and alcohol use. Consequently, screening for PTSD has become increasingly common in primary care clinics, especially in Veteran healthcare settings where trauma exposure among patients is common. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to revise the Primary Care PTSD screen (PC-PTSD) to reflect the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria for PTSD (PC-PTSD-5) and to examine both the diagnostic accuracy and the patient acceptability of the revised measure. DESIGN: We compared the PC-PTSD-5 results with those from a brief psychiatric interview for PTSD. Participants also rated screening preferences and acceptability of the PC-PTSD-5. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 398 Veterans participated in the study (response rate = 41 %). Most of the participants were male, in their 60s, and the majority identified as non-Hispanic White. MEASURES: The PC-PTSD-5 was used as the screening measure, a modified version of the PTSD module of the MINI-International Neuropsychiatric Interview was used to diagnose DSM-5 PTSD, and five brief survey items were used to assess acceptability and preferences. KEY RESULTS: The PC-PTSD-5 demonstrated excellent diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.941; 95 % C.I.: 0.912- 0.969). Whereas a cut score of 3 maximized sensitivity (κ[1]) = 0.93; SE = .041; 95 % C.I.: 0.849-1.00), a cut score of 4 maximized efficiency (κ[0.5] = 0.63; SE = 0.052; 95 % C.I.: 0.527-0.731), and a cut score of 5 maximized specificity (κ[0] = 0.70; SE = 0.077; 95 % C.I.: 0.550-0.853). Patients found the screen acceptable and indicated a preference for administration by their primary care providers as opposed to by other providers or via self-report. CONCLUSIONS: The PC-PTSD-5 demonstrated strong preliminary results for diagnostic accuracy, and was broadly acceptable to patients.

Patient Perceptions of Telemental Health: Systematic Review of Direct Comparisons to In-Person Psychotherapeutic Treatments.

BACKGROUND: Although there is growing empirical support for the clinical efficacy of telemental health (TMH) treatments, questions remain about how patient perceptions of the TMH treatment process may compare with those of traditional in-person psychotherapy treatments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Through a systematic review, we specifically examine measures of patient treatment satisfaction and therapeutic alliance in studies that included direct comparisons of video teleconferencing or telephone-based psychotherapeutic TMH treatments with in-person treatment delivery. We performed a comprehensive search of the PsychINFO and MEDLINE databases for articles published in the last 10 years (2004-2014) on TMH treatments that included in-person comparison groups, yielding 552 initial results with 14 studies meeting our full inclusion criteria. RESULTS: The findings generally show comparable treatment satisfaction as well as similar ratings of therapeutic alliance. Some results suggested the potential for decreased patient comfort with aspects of group treatment delivered via TMH. CONCLUSIONS: We discuss implications for providing psychotherapeutic treatments via TMH and review practice recommendations for assuring and enhancing satisfaction with TMH services.

Home-based telebehavioral health for U.S. military personnel and veterans with depression: A randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Evidence of feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of home-based telebehavioral health (HBTBH) needs to be established before adoption of HBTBH in the military health system can occur. The purpose of this randomized controlled noninferiority trial was to compare the safety, feasibility, and effectiveness of HBTBH to care provided in the traditional in-office setting among military personnel and veterans. METHOD: One hundred and twenty-one U.S. military service members and veterans were recruited at a military treatment facility and a Veterans Health Administration hospital. Participants were randomized to receive 8 sessions of behavioral activation treatment for depression (BATD) either in the home via videoconferencing (VC) or in a traditional in-office (same room) setting. Participants were assessed at baseline, midtreatment (4 weeks), posttreatment (8 weeks), and 3 months posttreatment. RESULTS: Mixed-effects modeling results with Beck Hopelessness Scale and Beck Depression Inventory II scores suggested relatively strong and similar reductions in hopelessness and depressive symptoms for both groups; however, noninferiority analyses failed to reject the null hypothesis that in-home care was no worse than in-office treatment based on these measures. There were not any differences found between treatment groups in regards to treatment satisfaction. Safety procedures were successfully implemented, supporting the feasibility of home-based care. CONCLUSION: BATD can be feasibly delivered to the homes of active duty service members and veterans via VC. Small-group differences suggest a slight benefit of in-person care over in-home telehealth on some clinical outcomes. Reasons for this are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Design and methodology of a randomized clinical trial of home-based telemental health treatment for U.S. military personnel and veterans with depression.

Home-based telemental health (TMH) treatments have the potential to address current and future health needs of military service members, veterans, and their families, especially for those who live in rural or underserved areas. The use of home-based TMH treatments to address the behavioral health care needs of U.S. military healthcare beneficiaries is not presently considered standard of care in the Military Health System. The feasibility, safety, and clinical efficacy of home-based TMH treatments must be established before broad dissemination of home-based treatment programs can be implemented. This paper describes the design, methodology, and protocol of a clinical trial that compares in-office to home-based Behavioral Activation for Depression (BATD) treatment delivered via web-based video technology for service members and veterans with depression. This grant funded three-year randomized clinical trial is being conducted at the National Center for Telehealth and Technology at Joint-base Lewis-McChord and at the Portland VA Medical Center. Best practice recommendations regarding the implementation of in-home telehealth in the military setting as well as the cultural and contextual factors of providing in-home care to active duty and veteran military populations are also discussed.