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Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols

Date Submitted: Apr 6, 2023
Date Accepted: May 23, 2023

The final, peer-reviewed published version of this preprint can be found here:

Feasibility of a Career Development Intervention for Veterans in Vocational Rehabilitation: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Stevenson B, Teravainen T, Kathawalla UK, Singer M, Wilkins S, Mueller L, Kelly M, Ellison M, Shirk S, Bakken S, Blustein D

Feasibility of a Career Development Intervention for Veterans in Vocational Rehabilitation: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

JMIR Res Protoc 2023;12:e47986

DOI: 10.2196/47986

PMID: 37389915

PMCID: 10365634

Feasibility of a Career Development Intervention for Veterans in Vocational Rehabilitation: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

  • Brian Stevenson; 
  • Taina Teravainen; 
  • Ummul Kiram Kathawalla; 
  • Margo Singer; 
  • Sarah Wilkins; 
  • Lisa Mueller; 
  • Megan Kelly; 
  • Marsha Ellison; 
  • Steven Shirk; 
  • Shana Bakken; 
  • David Blustein

ABSTRACT

Background:

Veterans with psychiatric disorders want additional career development services to support their recovery and pursuit of meaningful employment. However, no career counseling programs have been designed for this specific population. We developed the Purposeful Pathways intervention to fill this need.

Objective:

This study protocol aims to 1) evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the Purposeful Pathways intervention for veterans living with psychiatric disorders and 2) explore preliminary clinical outcome data.

Methods:

A total of 50 veterans who are participating in transitional work (TW) vocational rehabilitation services at a Veterans Affairs hospital will be randomized to either treatment as usual (TAU) or the augmented treatment condition (TAU + Purposeful Pathways). Feasibility will be assessed via recruitment rates, clinician fidelity to treatment, retention rates, and acceptability of randomization procedures. Acceptability will be assessed via client satisfaction at treatment termination using quantitative and qualitative data collection. Preliminary clinical and vocational outcomes will be assessed at baseline, six weeks, 12 weeks (treatment termination), and at a three-month follow-up via quantitative measures assessing vocational functioning, vocational process, and mental and physical functioning.

Results:

This study is beginning recruitment in April 2023 and is expected to continue through July 2025. Data collection is expected to be completed by January 2026, with full data analysis completed by March 2026.

Conclusions:

Findings from this study will provide information on the feasibility and acceptability of the Purposeful Pathways intervention, as well as secondary outcomes related to vocational functioning, vocational process, and mental and physical functioning. Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04698967; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04698967


 Citation

Please cite as:

Stevenson B, Teravainen T, Kathawalla UK, Singer M, Wilkins S, Mueller L, Kelly M, Ellison M, Shirk S, Bakken S, Blustein D

Feasibility of a Career Development Intervention for Veterans in Vocational Rehabilitation: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

JMIR Res Protoc 2023;12:e47986

DOI: 10.2196/47986

PMID: 37389915

PMCID: 10365634

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