As specified in the VA Uniform Services Handbook, Family Psycho-Education (FPE) treatment must be available to all Veterans with schizophrenia who could benefit, and their family members. This includes those receiving care at Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs), and at Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery Centers (PRRCs), whether provided on site, by referral, or by telemental health. However, less than 5% of VA medical centers offer FPE. Clearly, a major challenge is to devise ways to deliver mental health treatments and services to Veterans who need them in ways that meet their needs and preferences. The proposed project will compare the use of a website to deliver FPE to that of in-person delivered FPE. The findings could have profound implications for the VA's ability to improve the reach, use, appeal, and effectiveness of FPE for Veterans with schizophrenia, by using an e-health model that facilitates family involvement.
Name: Web-based multi-family psychoeducational treatment
Description: This intervention uses a website to provide multi-family psychoeducational treatment to Veterans and their family members or other supporters.Type: BehavioralWeb-based family psycho-education treatment
Name: In-persons multi-family psycho-educational treatment
Description: This intervention will provide the VA's evidence-based, in-person delivered, multi-family psychoeducational treatment, termed Multi-Family group (MFG). This intervention is delivered to Veterans and their families or other supporters using an in-person format.Type: BehavioralIn-persons multi-family psycho-educational treatment
Name: Treatment as usual (TAU)
Description: Treatment as Usual (TAU) is considered the usual care at the VA. Participants assigned to be in the Treatment as Usual arm will complete assessments at all data collection time points, (baseline, 6, 12, and 15 months.) These participants will not receive any study treatment but will continue to receive their treatment as usual through the VA.Type: OtherTreatment as Usual
Description: Illness symptom severity will be assessed using the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS)(the primary patient positive symptoms outcome) and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) (the primary patient negative symptoms outcome).
Measure: Positive symptoms (Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms) Time: Outcome will be assessed at 12 months (end of treatment)Allocation: Randomized
Parallel Assignment
There is one SNP
The investigators' previous work has developed a model and guidelines to design e-health applications for persons with schizophrenia and others with cognitive impairments (e.g., Rotondi, VA RR&D D61804R), and developed a highly scalable intervention termed Schizophrenia On-line Access to Resources (SOAR) (Rotondi, R01 MH63484). --- D61804R ---