Family coaching plus VA‑CRAFT to help Veterans with PTSD start treatment
Official title: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Coaching into Care with VA-CRAFT to Promote Veteran Engagement in PTSD Care
Funded at Veterans Admin Palo Alto Health Care Sys · NIH-11326790 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether adding an online program called VA‑CRAFT to the VA's phone-based Coaching Into Care helps family members support Veterans with PTSD to begin mental health care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Veterans Admin Palo Alto Health Care Sys NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Palo Alto, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2020 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01HX002955-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11326790 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are family members or close friends of Veterans with PTSD who are not currently engaged in VA mental health care and who can participate by phone and online.
✕Less likely to help
This approach may not help Veterans who are already actively engaged in mental health treatment or who lack a reachable family supporter to participate.
What this research studies
Family members and friends who call VA Coaching Into Care will be invited to join the study and some will also get access to the VA‑CRAFT web program. Callers will be randomly assigned to receive Coaching Into Care alone or Coaching Into Care plus VA‑CRAFT, and researchers will follow up over time to see whether the Veteran starts mental health treatment. The team will collect information from family supporters about their experiences and track Veterans' care initiation over the next months. The goal is a scalable phone-and-web approach that helps more Veterans connect with effective PTSD care while supporting their families.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the combined phone coaching and web program could help more Veterans with PTSD begin evidence-based mental health treatment and give families practical tools to support that process.
How similar studies have gone: VA's Coaching Into Care is well liked but only about 25% of callers report their Veteran sought care within six months, while VA‑CRAFT is based on validated family-training methods so combining them is a newer approach.
Where this research is happening
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Veterans Admin Palo Alto Health Care Sys
Palo Alto, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kuhn, Eric Roland — Veterans Admin Palo Alto Health Care Sys
- Study coordinator: Kuhn, Eric Roland
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.