Recruiting

NurseNET & NET

Sponsor:

Rush University Medical Center

Code:

NCT07430657

Conditions

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

NurseNET

Referral to PTSD Treatment

Study Details

Brief summary:

Purpose of the Study Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common and serious condition, but many people cannot get the help they need because there are not enough mental health specialists (like psychologists or psychiatrists) available. This study is testing a new program called NurseNET. The goal of NurseNET is to train nurses to provide a proven, short-term trauma treatment called Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET).

Why This Study is Important Most people see their nurse or doctor for health concerns. Because nurses are highly trusted and already work on the front lines of healthcare, they may be in the best position to offer PTSD treatment quickly and conveniently. This study aims to see if nurse-led care can bridge the gap between patients and the treatment they deserve.

What the Study Involves Researchers will enroll 100 participants who have symptoms of PTSD. Participants will work with a trained nurse in a primary care setting to complete the NurseNET program.

The Treatment: The program consists of 4 to 6 sessions. During these sessions, the nurse helps the patient talk through their life story and process difficult memories in a safe, supportive way.

What We Are Measuring: The research team will look at several factors to see if the program is successful:

Effectiveness: Do PTSD symptoms improve after working with the nurse?

Feasibility and Acceptability: Do patients and nurses find this type of care easy to use and helpful?

Health Impact: Since PTSD is linked to heart health, the study will also look at whether the treatment improves things like blood pressure or physical activity levels.

Goal of the Research By the end of this study, researchers hope to show that nurses can safely and effectively provide trauma care. If successful, this model could be used across the United States to make PTSD treatment much easier to access for everyone.

Conditions

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD

Study ID

NCT07430657

Start date

Mar 30, 2026

Status verified date

Apr, 2026

Completion date

Sep, 2029

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jun, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • o PTSD + trauma exposure (PCL-5 score ≥28, plus trauma endorsed on LEC-5/CAPS)

  • Life-threatening CV event in the last 90 days (including myocardial infarction/heart attack, acute cerebrovascular accident/stroke, sudden cardiac arrest, acute decompensated heart failure, or life-threatening arrhythmia requiring cardioversion or defibrillation).
  • Primary care patient at Rush University Medical Center

Exclusion Criteria:

  • o Safety risk (documented suicidal ideation/need for acute psychiatric care)

  • NET conflict (actively receiving psychotherapy/PTSD treatment)
  • Cognitive/decisional non-capacity (University of California, San Diego Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent \[UBACC\] ≤ 14.5)

Study Design

Enrollment

100 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: NurseNET

The NurseNET experimental arm involves training primary care nurses to deliver a condensed, 4 session version of Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) to patients with PTSD symptoms. This task sharing approach integrates evidence-based trauma treatment directly into the primary care workflow to increase service access and improve select health outcomes.

active comparator: Minimally-Enhanced Usual Care

The minimally-enhanced usual care arm consists of provision of psychoeducational materials regarding trauma symptoms and available community resources, followed by referral to PTSD treatment. This arm serves as a rigorous control to account for the effects of time and general medical attention while identifying the specific clinical impact of the nurse-led Narrative Exposure Therapy intervention.

Interventions

NurseNET

NurseNET is a pragmatic clinical intervention designed to deliver evidence-based PTSD treatment within primary care workflows. It is distinguished from traditional Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) and other primary care behavioral health interventions by the following four core elements:

Nurse-Led Task Sharing. Unlike traditional models that rely on licensed mental health specialists (psychologists or social workers), NurseNET is delivered entirely by nurses. This leverages the existing nursing workforce to bypass specialist shortages and reduce the "referral cliff" associated with external mental health consultations.

Dose-Compressed Protocol. While standard NET often extends to 10 or more sessions, NurseNET utilizes a condensed 4-session format. This "minimum therapeutic dose" is specifically engineered for the high-throughput U.S. healthcare environment. We use a safety-net supervision framework and leverage the holistic nurse preparation in the context of co-located/integrated care

Referral to PTSD Treatment

Standard referral to PTSD treatment.

Primary outcome measure

  • PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3, 6, 12 months ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Locations

Rush University Medical Center

Recruiting

Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60612

Contacts

Kirsten Dickins Assistant Professor, PhD

(312) 942-1442kirsten_dickins@rush.edu

Sarah Pridgen, MA, LCPC

312-563-0577Sarah_Pridgen@rush.edu

Principal Investigator:

Kirsten Dickins, PhD

Rush University Medical Center

Recruiting

Brookfield, Wisconsin, United States, 53045

Contacts

Kirsten Assistant Professor, PhD, FNP-C

3129421442kirsten_dickins@rush.edu

Sarah Senior Research Operations Manager, MA, LCPC

3129421442

More Information

Sponsor

Rush University Medical Center

Last update posted

Apr 29, 2026

Last verified

Apr, 2026

Keywords

  • post traumatic stress disorder
  • primary care
  • nurse

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Rush University Medical Center on 2026-04-29.