Recruiting

Peer-Supported mHealth

Sponsor:

VA Office of Research and Development

Code:

NCT07507747

Conditions

Psychological Distress

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Self Managed mHealth

1 session of peer mHealth

4 sessions Peer mHealth

4 sessions of Peer Whole Health

Study Details

Brief summary:

Many Veterans experience psychological distress including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and problems with sleep and anger. Services to address these problems need to be easy for Veterans to access. VA mobile health applications (mHealth apps) that teach skills to manage psychological distress are widely available. However, Veterans rarely use these apps enough to experience health benefits. Peer specialists are VA employees who are trained to use their lived experiences in mental health recovery to help other Veterans. Peers can provide support and accountability to Veterans as they use mHealth apps. Peers working in VA primary care settings are easily accessible to Veterans who receive VA services. This study aims to improve the health of Veterans by testing the effectiveness of peer-supported mHealth in reducing psychological distress. It will also test how much peer support Veterans need to improve their health with using mHealth apps.

Conditions

Psychological Distress

Study ID

NCT07507747

Start date

Sep 27, 2026

Status verified date

Sep, 2026

Completion date

Apr 30, 2030

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Apr 30, 2029

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Veteran enrolled in primary care at one of 3 VA facilities (Philadelphia, PA; Ann Arbor, MI; and Bedford, MA)
  • clinically significant psychological distress on at least one DASS-21 subscale (Depression => 10, Anxiety => 8, Stress => 13)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • symptoms that may preclude active engagement in the intervention such as gross cognitive impairment or current symptoms of mania or psychosis
  • suicide risk as measured by the P4 Suicide Assessment
  • plan to engage in psychotherapy during the intervention period
  • started or changed the dose of a psychotropic medication in the last two months
  • voice a preference to be directly referred to mental health specialty care

Study Design

Enrollment

384 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Sequential

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Stage 1

Stage 1 randomization

experimental: Stage 2

Stage 2 randomization

Interventions

Self Managed mHealth

Patients use mHealth apps to manage psychological distress

1 session of peer mHealth

Patients receive one session with a peer while using mHealth apps to manage psychological distress

4 sessions Peer mHealth

Patients receive 4 sessions with a peer while using mHealth apps to manage psychological distress

4 sessions of Peer Whole Health

Patients receive 4 session with a peer focused on Whole Health

Primary outcome measure

  • Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale [ Time Frame: baseline to 24 weeks ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Kyle Possemato, PhD

(315) 425-4400kyle.possemato@va.gov

Locations

Syracuse VA Medical Center, Syracuse, NY

Recruiting

Syracuse, New York, United States, 13210-2716

Contacts

Kyle Possemato, PhD

(315) 425-4400kyle.possemato@va.gov

Principal Investigator:

Kyle Possemato, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

VA Office of Research and Development

Last update posted

Oct 2, 2026

Last verified

Sep, 2026

Keywords

  • peer support
  • mHealth
  • Veterans
  • SMART design
  • psychological distress

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-10-03. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by VA Office of Research and Development on 2026-10-02. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.