NCT05484297

Increasing Social Connection Through Crisis Caring Contacts: A Pragmatic Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 974 (actual)
• Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development · Federal
• Sex: All
• Age: 50 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The main purpose is to learn if sending messages from the VA (called "Caring Contacts") reduces loneliness and improves mental health. The investigators want to understand if these messages are effective in Veterans aged 60 and above who have missed appointments at the VA even though they have health problems. Participants will receive up to 10 postcards mailed in envelopes from a fellow Veteran (Peer Specialist) from their local VA, and will be asked to fill out four surveys. The investigators are recruiting 920 Veterans aged 50 years and older who have felt isolated and have missed appointments at the VA to join this study.

Detailed description

Lack of social connection is a common and powerful predictor of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, functional decline, and death, even after adjustment for sociodemographic and clinical variables. Loneliness, specifically, is associated with a 26% increased likelihood of all-cause mortality. The urgency of addressing these problems is only amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, which for some time may further increase loneliness, suicide, and other causes of mortality. Due to their risk for loneliness and negative health outcomes, a group of particular concern is older adults and patients with medical or psychiatric comorbidity who have poor treatment engagement. Caring Contacts is an intervention that can address loneliness and treatment disengagement. It involves periodically sending brief messages to at-risk individuals with nondemanding expressions of care and concern. It is one of just two non-pharmacologic interventions to have evidence in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for reducing rates of suicide. However, Caring Contacts has only been evaluated in a relatively narrowly indicated population of patients with acute psychiatric issues. Major gaps in the understanding of Caring Contacts include whether it reduces loneliness, whether it can diminish causes of mortality besides suicide, and whether it is effective older Veterans and patients with treatment disengagement. The overarching objective of this project is to evaluate "Crisis Caring Contacts" (CCC), an adaptation of Caring Contacts tailored to Veterans at risk for lack of social connection and lapses in treatment amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. Primary aims for this study are: 1) Among older Veterans with poor treatment engagement, evaluate the effectiveness of Crisis Caring Contacts in decreasing loneliness, compared to enhanced usual care; 2) Evaluate the effect of Crisis Caring Contacts on other important outcomes, including treatment engagement and suicidal ideation; 3) Explore potential moderators of treatment response to Crisis Caring Contacts; and 4) Explore the effect of Crisis Caring Contacts on all-cause mortality, suicide attempts, and drug overdoses. Impact: This project will advance scientific understanding of key gaps related to the mechanisms and outcomes of Caring Contacts, while also evaluating a timely, pragmatic, low-cost, and scalable intervention for Veterans affected by lack of social connection and treatment engagement.

Conditions

• Loneliness

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Crisis Caring Contacts post cards	A series of post cards with Crisis Caring Contacts content sent over 10 months
BEHAVIORAL	Control post cards	A series of post cards intended to control for attention received but not including elements thought to be "active ingredients" in the intervention

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-04-04
• Primary completion: 2026-02-17
• Completion: 2026-02-17
• First posted: 2022-08-02
• Last updated: 2026-04-02

Locations

3 sites across 1 country: United States