Computerized Intervention in Primary Care for Women Veterans with Sexual Assault Histories and Psychosocial Health Risks: a Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance: Sexual assault is a public health concern for women and is associated with subsequent psychosocial health risks of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), hazardous drinking, and intimate partner violence (IPV). Sexual assault is associated with social stigma and other barriers shown to inhibit one from seeking mental health care. Digital health technologies may overcome these barriers. Objective: To test the impact of a brief computerized intervention delivered in primary care to reduce health risks and increase mental health treatment utilization among women with histories of sexual assault and current health risks. Design, Setting, and Participants: The Safe and Healthy Experiences (SHE) program was tested in a randomized controlled trial with N = 153 women veterans at a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical center, and they completed assessments at baseline, 2 months, and 4 months. Intervention: SHE is a brief motivational interviewing and psychoeducation-based computerized intervention. SHE was compared to a screen and referral-only control condition. Main Measures: Health risks were measured via validated self-report instruments. Treatment initiation and utilization were measured via self-report and chart review. Results: SHE did not impact women’s number of health risks (all p’s >.05). However, women randomized to SHE showed significantly greater increases in treatment use compared to women in the control group, as measured by chart review (χ2 (1, n = 153) = 4.38, p =.036, rs =.16), and self-report (χ2 (1, n = 130) = 5.89, p =.015, rs =.21). SHE was found to be an acceptable intervention. Conclusions: SHE was effective in improving mental health treatment initiation and utilization compared to a control group. Computer-based interventions to address sexual trauma and its consequences are acceptable, are highly scalable, and can add value to primary care with little cost or increase in provider time. Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT02957747.