Veterans Individual Placement and Support Towards Advancing Recovery

Study Summary

The primary objective of CSP#589 VIP-STAR is to evaluate the effectiveness of Individual Placement \& Support (IPS) in unemployed Veterans with PTSD. The primary hypothesis is that, compared to those treated with transitional work program (TWP), unemployed Veterans with PTSD treated with IPS will be significantly more likely to become a steady worker. A steady worker is defined as holding a competitive job for greater than or equal to 50% of the 18-month study follow-up period (i.e., greater than or equal to 39 of the 78 weeks). All participants will be followed for 18 months post-randomization. 12/14/12: Analytic plan augmented to allow for a sensitivity analysis of the primary outcome that would exclude the first 12 weeks post-randomization, and evaluate between group proportion of steady worker status, as defined by working in a competitive job for greater than or equal to 50% of the weeks during week 13-78. 7/1/13: Analysis plan has been augmented to include a logistic regression analysis of the primary outcome, adjusted for participating medical center. 10/4/13: Addition of the IPS-25 Fidelity Scale. The addition of the IPS-25 scale should increase the validity of study results. 1/15/15: Addition of an Interactive Voice Recognition/Web-based (IVR/Web) System; as an option for weekly data capture of the primary outcome data (employment history). 8/17/15: Approval of Supplemental Data Collection at Participant Study Exit; use of the data collected will supplement the study analysis plan and, provide further insight into the impact of vocational rehab. A Participant Satisfaction Survey will allow study participants to indicate their level of satisfaction with the study, vocational rehabilitation intervention and, suggestions for future research.

Interventions

• BEHAVIORAL Individual Placement & Support
• BEHAVIORAL VA Transitional Work Program