INTERVENTIONALNOT YET RECRUITINGNCT07721285
Applying Mixed Methods to Identify Links Between PTSD Symptoms, Cannabis Use, and Functional Behaviors With Personalized Feedback Intervention Development
Many Veterans live with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and use cannabis to manage distress, despite limited supportive evidence. Veterans with PTSD who use cannabis often struggle with sleep, physical activity, and social connection, which are factors critical to health and well-being. This project will use smartphones and wearable devices to track symptoms and daily behaviors in real time and provide personalized feedback to help Veterans understand and manage the impact of PTSD and cannabis use in their lives. The study will develop a motivational interviewing-based personalized feedback approach that uses real-time data to help Veterans make data-informed decisions about their mental health, cannabis use, and functional behaviors. Findings will support development of scalable, Veteran-centered tools to promote healthier coping, functional recovery, and quality of life, even if they are not currently in treatment. The goal is to develop supportive, real-time strategies that meet Veterans where they are and promote better outcomes across the VA healthcare system.
Locally preserved from ClinicalTrials.govOpen ClinicalTrials.gov↗last source update 2026-07-27
What this record can show
Protocol only - no registry results posted
This locally preserved record separates the registered protocol from source-reported registry results. Neither is a treatment recommendation.
Registry facts
Study at a glance
- Phase
- NA
- Enrollment
- 60 (ESTIMATED)
- Start date
- 2027-01-01
- Sponsor
- VA Office of Research and Development
- Design
- NA · SINGLE GROUP · TREATMENT
- Locations
- 1
- Results record
- Not present in registry snapshot
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and cannabis use are highly prevalent among Veterans, frequently co-occurring in ways that compound impairment and reduce quality of life. Many Veterans use cannabis to manage PTSD symptoms despite limited empirical support. Although the 2023 VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines advise against cannabis for PTSD, a significant proportion of Veterans continue to use it. Both PTSD and cannabis use independently impair psychosocial functioning, and their combined day-to-day impact remains poorly understood. This CDA-2 focuses on developing and refining a motivational interviewing (MI)-based, personalized feedback approach that uses real-time data to help Veterans better understand how cannabis use relates to PTSD symptoms and daily functioning, with the goal of supporting healthier coping and functional recovery. This project uses ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and wearable activity tracking to support the development and refinement of an MI-based personalized feedback session for Veterans with PTSD who use cannabis. This personalized, data-driven approach yields foundational tools for future VA implementation. Sixty Veterans with PTSD and regular cannabis use will complete a 14-day EMA protocol (3 random prompts, 2 daily diaries per day) and Fitbit tracking. The study will use a phased design. Phase 1 (n=20) informs PFS development. Phase 2 (n=10) pilots the 1st iteration PFS. Using qualitative feedback from Phase 2 participants and experts, the 2nd iteration PFS will be developed and piloted with a single-arm design in Phase 3 (n=30). Phase 3 tests the 2nd iteration PFS with 1- and 3-month follow-up assessments. Similarly, qualitative feedback will be gathered from Phase 3 participants to further refine the PFS for use in a future VA Merit Award randomized clinical trial. Outcomes include real-time reports of PTSD symptoms, cannabis use episodes, and functioning domains, analyzed using multilevel and network models. This CDA-2 will generate the empirical and methodological foundation needed to support a future VA Merit Award focused on fully testing an MI-based personalized feedback session. The long-term goal is to build the foundation for scalable self-management tools that support functioning and recovery among Veterans with co-occurring PTSD and cannabis use within the VA healthcare system.
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic