Trial results for the STEP-Home workshop, a transdiagnostic skill-based community reintegration intervention for veterans with conditions including depression, were posted on ClinicalTrials.gov on 2025-05-30. The study enrolled 221 participants.
Background
Many post-9/11 veterans face significant challenges in community reintegration, often compounded by co-occurring conditions such as Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, Substance Related Disorders, Depression, and Anxiety Disorders. Effective interventions are needed to address these complex needs by fostering meaningful improvement in functional skills critical for community participation, including emotional regulation, problem-solving, and attention functioning. The STEP-Home workshop was designed to target these specific needs of a broad range of underserved veterans.
Trial design
This completed study, designated as Phase NA, enrolled 221 participants. The trial investigated the efficacy of the STEP-Home intervention, described as a transdiagnostic skill-based community reintegration workshop. The study included participants with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, Substance Related Disorders, Depression, and Anxiety Disorders. The intervention aimed to facilitate reintegration by improving functional skills. The comparator group was PCGT, as indicated by the group titles in the key measurements.
Key results
The trial reported key measurements and analyses related to reintegration and readjustment:
- Military to Civilian Questionnaire (score on a scale):
- For the STEP-Home group, a mean score of 33.8 (Standard Deviation 13.2) was observed.
- For the PCGT group, a mean score of 34.7 (Standard Deviation 11.5) was observed.
- For the STEP-Home group, a mean score of 25.5 (Standard Deviation 15.3) was observed.
- For the PCGT group, a mean score of 27.1 (Standard Deviation 11.2) was observed.
- For the STEP-Home group, a mean score of 24.4 (Standard Deviation 15.5) was observed.
- For the PCGT group, a mean score of 27.7 (Standard Deviation 11.0) was observed.
- Post-deployment Readjustment Inventory (Change) (score on a scale):
- For the STEP-Home group, a mean score of 117.1 (Standard Deviation 32.6) was observed.
- For the PCGT group, a mean score of 121.0 (Standard Deviation 26.9) was observed.
- For the STEP-Home group, a mean score of 107.8 (Standard Deviation 35.8) was observed.
- For the PCGT group, a mean score of 116.2 (Standard Deviation 27.4) was observed.
- For the STEP-Home group, a mean score of 100.0 (Standard Deviation 37.9) was observed.
- For the PCGT group, a mean score of 111.1 (Standard Deviation 27.5) was observed.
Statistical analyses using a t-test (2-sided) indicated significant findings:
- For improvement on reintegration (measured by the Military to Civilian Questionnaire), multiple analyses showed a p-value of 0.0001.
- For improvement on readjustment (measured by the Post-deployment Readjustment Inventory), analyses showed p-values of 0.0044 and 0.0001.
What this means
The posted results suggest that the STEP-Home intervention, a transdiagnostic skill-based community reintegration workshop, demonstrated significant improvements in reintegration and readjustment for veterans. The consistently lower mean scores for the STEP-Home group on both the Military to Civilian Questionnaire and the Post-deployment Readjustment Inventory, compared to the PCGT group, indicate a positive effect of the intervention. These differences were supported by highly significant p-values, suggesting the observed benefits are unlikely due to chance. These findings support the potential of skill-based approaches to address the complex challenges faced by veterans with co-occurring mental health conditions, including depression, in their transition to civilian life.
Source
The information regarding these trial results was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a public database of clinical studies. The results for the study NCT03868930, titled "Multisite RCT of STEP-Home: A Transdiagnostic Skill-based Community Reintegration Workshop", were posted on 2025-05-30 on clinicaltrials.gov.