Veterans Service Organizations and My HealtheVet (MHV) - Full Text View

Purpose

This project will design, deliver, and evaluate a peer support intervention that will help veterans become familiar with and register for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) My HealtheVet (MHV). It will lay the groundwork for 2 types of future projects. First, the investigators will develop materials that can be used in other settings to increase registration, authentication, and meaningful use of MHV. Second, it will allow us to develop and study interventions that use informed, peer-supported Internet use to improve health behaviors and outcomes among veterans.

Condition	Intervention
Hypertension Hyperlipidemia Coronary Artery Disease Diabetes Mellitus	Other: Education


Study Type:	Interventional
Study Design:	Allocation: Randomized Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment Masking: Open Label
Official Title:	Working With Veterans Organizations to Encourage Use of My HealtheVet

Further study details as provided by VA Office of Research and Development:

Primary Outcome Measures:

Registration for MHV [ Time Frame: Baseline; After Group 1 Intervention; After Group 2 Intervention ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Measured by response to question: Have you ever used My HealtheVet online?


Enrollment:	282
Study Start Date:	June 2012
Study Completion Date:	January 2014
Primary Completion Date:	June 2013 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)

Arms	Assigned Interventions
Experimental: First educational intervention group Group that receives intervention first. The intervention is a series of training sessions, in person and on line, to educate post superusers who will in turn educate post members on the utility and mechanics of use of MHV.	Other: Education Series of training sessions, in person and on line, to educate post superusers who will in turn educate post members on the utility and mechanics of use of MHV. Other Name: Post education
Experimental: Second intervention group This arm receives a series of training sessions over study months 6-9. The training sessions are in person and on line and are directed at post superusers who will in turn educate post members on the utility and mechanics of use of MHV. They complete survey rounds 1 and 2 before the training and survey round 3 after the training.	Other: Education Series of training sessions, in person and on line, to educate post superusers who will in turn educate post members on the utility and mechanics of use of MHV. Other Name: Post education
No Intervention: Education after data collection complete This group received a similar intervention, but after all quantitative data collection complete.

Detailed Description:

BACKGROUND/RATIONALE: Despite the promise of electronic health resources, there is evidence that they have not led to the improved self management that many envisioned. There is evidence for this from a variety of sources, including the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Although there is appropriate attention to improving the functionality and ease of use of the system, a key barrier is patient acceptance and familiarity. Peer support, particularly in group settings, can improve health-related behaviors. Such approaches may increase and improve MHV use.

OBJECTIVES: Our goal in the present project is to develop and test a peer-based mechanism to increase MHV use by member of veterans service organizations (VSO) such as the American Legion. The investigators will address 3 specific aims:

To demonstrate that trained members of VSO can provide basic MHV education and support within their VSO unit using mobile computers.
To demonstrate that this intervention increases MHV registration, in person authentication (IPA), and reported use of MHV among veteran post members.
To create clear, concise, and portable resources that will make it possible to replicate this process in other VSO units or other community settings.

METHODS: This implementation study is a quasi-randomized intervention with delayed controls. Working with the leadership of selected veterans groups, the investigators will identify 12 posts that have the appropriate resources and interests to serve as pilot posts for the present project. The investigators will train 2 peer mentors (super-users or SU) from 4 of these posts using adaptations of the peer training approach the investigators used for a previous project. The investigators will work with the SU to install computers with wireless broadband Internet access at their posts. The investigators will load the computers with software that documents unique sessions, sites visited, and amount of time at each site. The investigators will help the SU provide lessons regarding MHV use to his/her fellow post members at 4 monthly post meetings. After 4 months, the investigators will move the computers to the next 4 posts and repeat the intervention. Finally, the investigators will move the computers to the last 4 posts, providing remote support and our training materials to the SU at those posts. The investigators will use computer tracking data, surveys, focus groups, and interviews to assess the impact of the program. The investigators will test changes in registration, IPA, and use with before and after surveys. Our analysis will adjust for clustering within posts. The investigators will transcribe our focus groups and interviews verbatim and analyze them using a case study approach.

Eligibility


Ages Eligible for Study:	18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)
Genders Eligible for Study:	Both
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:	Yes

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Two steps, first a post is enrolled, then a member participates.

Post eligible if:

The post leadership agrees that the post will support participation.
Two or more members of the post agree to serve as MHV super-users.
There is an identifiable location within the post for the computer.

Member eligible if:

Member of post
Attends the meeting at which the survey is administered

Exclusion Criteria:

Does not consent to survey
Does not attend meeting where survey administered

Contacts and Locations

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below. For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01597843

Locations


United States, Wisconsin
Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, 53295-1000

Sponsors and Collaborators

VA Office of Research and Development

The American Legion Department of Wisconsin

Investigators


Principal Investigator:	Jeffrey C Whittle, MD MPH	Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, WI

More Information

Additional Information:

American Legion Website for Department of Wisconsin This link exits the ClinicalTrials.gov site


Responsible Party:	VA Office of Research and Development
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:	NCT01597843 History of Changes
Other Study ID Numbers:	RRP 11-408
Study First Received:	May 10, 2012
Results First Received:	September 8, 2014
Last Updated:	April 6, 2015
Health Authority:	United States: Federal Government

Keywords provided by VA Office of Research and Development:


education self care peer group Computers Attitude to computers

Additional relevant MeSH terms:


Diabetes Mellitus Coronary Artery Disease Myocardial Ischemia Coronary Disease Hyperlipidemias Glucose Metabolism Disorders Metabolic Diseases Endocrine System Diseases	Heart Diseases Cardiovascular Diseases Arteriosclerosis Arterial Occlusive Diseases Vascular Diseases Dyslipidemias Lipid Metabolism Disorders

ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 27, 2016