Reducing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Symptoms in First Responders and Frontline Health Care Workers

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

In brief

This study addresses PTSD symptoms in First Responders and Healthcare workers. Specifically, it tests whether a brief PTSD treatment (talk therapy) effectively treats PTSD when provided to First Responders and Healthcare workers by counselors in Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). The central hypothesis is that the PTSD treatment, Prolonged Exposure for Primary Care (PE-PC), will reduce PTSD symptoms and improve functioning, compared to EAP Treatment as Usual (TAU).

Key facts

Study ID

NCT05751473

Run by

University of Michigan

People needed

410

Starts

2023-05-16

Expected to finish

2027-07-30

Last updated by the study team

2026-07-01

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Are employees at an orginization served by a participating EAP
• Have a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (PCL-5) score ≥33
• Have had psychotropic medication stability for at least 4 weeks
• Inclusion criteria for the qualitative portion of the study:
• Enrolled into the randomized clinical trial and were a treatment responder or were a treatment non-responder

You may not qualify if…

• Severe cognitive impairment that in the judgment of the investigators makes it unlikely that the participant can adhere to the study regimen (as evidenced by confusion, inability to track discussion or answer questions, or other clear and significant indicators of cognitive impairment)
• High risk of suicide (defined as meeting criteria for Action Step 3 on the Participant Suicide Risk Screening form: found in protocol)
• Need for detoxification
• Active psychosis or unmanaged bipolar disorder, as measured by items 12 and 13 of the cross cutting assessment
• Currently engagement in a trauma-focused behavioral treatment (such as Prolonged Exposure or Cognitive Processing Therapy).
• Patients who do not speak English will be excluded for logistical reasons.

Where it is running

• Duke University Health System — Durham, North Carolina, United States (enrolling)
• Tanner Health System — Carrollton, Georgia, United States (enrolling)
• ProMedica — Fremont, Ohio, United States (enrolling)
• Houston Fire Department — Houston, Texas, United States (enrolling)
• Detroit Fire Department — Detroit, Michigan, United States (enrolling)
• Health Management Systems of America — Detroit, Michigan, United States (enrolling)
• Michigan State University — East Lansing, Michigan, United States (enrolling)
• University of Michigan — Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States (enrolling)
• Rutgers Health — Piscataway, New Jersey, United States (enrolling)
• Cope NewYork-Presbyterian — New York, New York, United States (enrolling)
• West Bloomfield Fire Department — West Bloomfield, Michigan, United States
• Henry Ford Health System — Detroit, Michigan, United States
• Sharp Healthcare — San Diego, California, United States
• University of Cincinati Health — Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.