Overview
VOICES Veterans Socials (VS) support Veterans in the community through weekly social groups. Veterans socials have the potential to improve social functioning, mental health symptoms, and create lasting social support. This project aims to evaluate and improve Veterans Socials to help older Veterans with depression by adapting materials, interviewing VS attendees, and collecting questionnaires. The goal is to improve the program based on the results for future use and research.
Description
VOICES Veterans Socials is a peer-led weekly social group based in the community designed to promote sustainable social support among Veterans. The research seeks to adapt and conduct a preliminary evaluation of the Veterans Socials (VS) intervention with older Veterans. The study will develop a training procedure for VS facilitators and evaluate an open trial of this intervention. This study will determine whether a larger-scale, more definitive VS study is indicated
Phase 1: 13 total participants will engage in semi-structured interviews about barriers to social engagement, challenges around community-based activities, social support acquisition, and how their age and Veteran status intersects with these constructs.
Phase 2: 20 participants will be recruited for VOICES Veterans Socials (VS) which will be conducted in 2-4 community-based social groups, with 5-10 participants in each social group. The investigators will conduct data collection on three occasions; at enrollment (pre; 0 months), at intervention completion (post; including semi-structured interview; 4 months) and at follow-up (7 months).
VS Procedures. Twenty Veterans aged 65 or older with depression will engage in VS. Veterans will receive 90-minutes of weekly social engagement in a community-setting in accordance with the VS manual. Each week will focus on social connections, engagement in social activities, and reinforcing behaviors that give individuals meaning and purpose.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- Documented depressive disorder or score of > 2 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2)
- Capacity to consent as determined by the University of California, San Diego Brief Assessment of Capacity to Consent (UBACC)
Exclusion Criteria:
- DSM-5 diagnosis of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder or Bipolar Disorder
- Symptoms of psychosis that would interfere with study participation
- Probable Dementia as determined by the 6-item Cognitive Impairment Screener
- Suicidal ideation with plan or intent
- Non-English speaking
- Active substance use disorder (DSM-5) (within 30 days of study entry)