The Mobile PTSD Coach App in Acute Injury Survivors
CompletedNot applicableNCT03247179
View the official record on ClinicalTrials.gov Recruiting status changes often. Contact the study team listed on ClinicalTrials.gov, and talk to your doctor before joining a study.
This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.
Brief summary (from the registry)
This project is a preliminary randomized controlled trial testing the potential impact of the PTSD Coach mobile application at reducing posttraumatic stress and pain symptoms among acutely injured trauma patients. Immediately following the injury, patients will be randomly assigned to use the PTSD Coach app, or to the treatment as usual condition.
Study details
- Official title
- Secondary Prevention With the Mobile PTSD Coach App to Improve Health Outcomes and the Continuity of Care Following Traumatic Physical Injury: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Conditions
- Chronic Pain
- Acute Pain Due to Trauma
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
- Interventions
- Other: PTSD Coach mobile application
- Sponsor
- University of Pittsburgh
- Collaborators
- Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research
- Start date
- 2017-09-19
- Primary completion
- 2018-12-20
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 18 Years to 65 Years
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- United States
- Total sites listed
- 2
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * English-speaking adults seeking treatment in the ED * Adults between the ages of 18-65 * Sustained a musculoskeletal injury (e.g., fractures, sprains or strains, contusions, dislocations, crushing injuries and open wounds; and other chief complains involving the neck, back, or extremities) * Injury resulting from a motor vehicle crash (MVC) or motorcycle crash (MCC) that occurred within the past 24 hours * Eligible patients must own a mobile phone with short-message service (SMS) features (e.g., the ability to send and respond to text messages) and the ability to download apps * Participants must self-report that they experienced a potential traumatic event reflected by Criterion A of the DSM-5 PTSD diagnosis (endorse actual or perceived life threat and/or serious injury141,142) * Participants must self-report that they experienced a painful injury reflected by a pain score ≥4 using the verbal numerical score (0-10) in response to the question: "On a scale of 0-10, how severe is your pain?" * Patients with a past history of PTSD, but not currently receiving treatment (e.g., benzodiazepines or mental/behavioral therapy), are eligible for participation. Exclusion Criteria: * Presenting to the ED for a non-MVC/MCC (i.e., fall, assault) * Participants who do not own a mobile phone with SMS features * Participants with a pain score \< 4 or do not endorse Criterion A of the DSM-5 PTSD diagnosis * Spinal injuries * Major lacerations resulting in significant damage to subcutaneous tissue (e.g., degloving) and specific nerve injury (these injuries could lead to a distinct neuropathic pain syndrome) * Traumatic brain injury; Evidence of moderate to severe cognitive impairment secondary to trauma-related head injury (GCS\<13) * Self-inflicted injury * Time since trauma \> 24 hours * Non-English speaking; younger than 18 or older than 65 * Not medically stable or alert and oriented * Initiation of benzodiazepines and other psychotropic medications at time of ED visit * Initiation of mental or behavioral health therapy at time of ED visit * Currently enrolled in treatment (medication or mental/behavioral health therapy) for PTSD * Prisoners
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03247179