NCT05289882

Purpose After Service Through Sport (PASS)

• Status: Withdrawn
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 0 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of British Columbia · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a gender-sensitized social-connectedness physical activity program in relation to key markers of well-being among military veteran men over 6 months.

Detailed description

The transition to civilian life can bring about substantive challenges for military veterans. Particular challenges include a loss of identity, feelings of loneliness and isolation, difficulties with finding and retaining employment, substance misuse, and problems adjusting to very different work and cultural environments. A growing body of scientific evidence also indicates that military veterans are at notable risk of depleted mental health (e.g., depression, suicide ideation). The study involves broadening the evaluation (e.g., assess its impact on mental and physical health) and reach (e.g. extend to other Canadian cities) of a recently developed pilot program, Purpose After Service through Sport (PASS), which was completed in Vancouver in 2020 and assessed for its feasibility and acceptability. The results from this pilot study revealed that the program was well-received (by both military leadership and veterans themselves), fostered a sense of social connectivity among veterans, resulted in (self-reported) physical and psychological health benefits, and displayed considerable potential for scale up and evaluation using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. The PASS Randomized Trial draws from the empirical evidence related to (a) the mental health benefits of regular physical activity, (b) benefits of group-based programs that foster social connectivity, (c) the importance of, and potential derived from, developing and implementing gender-sensitized programs, and (d) the pilot study described above.

Conditions

• Well-Being (Psychological Flourishing)

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	PASS Program Condition:	Participants randomized to this condition will be invited to take part in weekly ball hockey games (once per week), that will last approximately 60 minutes, and will be followed by opportunities to socially connect afterwards. The results of our feasibility study indicated that the PASS program acted as an important conduit to direct participants to other support services and resources (e.g., counseling, career transition centre, employment, education). Military veteran men are often reluctant to access such supports, especially if they attach stigma to such services (e.g., mental health services). At each site, a military veteran will be trained as a facilitator to operate as a conduit to refer participants to the relevant support services and agencies.

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-09-01
• Primary completion: 2023-03-31
• Completion: 2023-06-01
• First posted: 2022-03-22
• Last updated: 2023-05-10

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Canada