Randomized Controlled Trial of a Psychoeducational Video Intervention for Traumatic Injury Survivors

Objective: This randomized controlled trial evaluated the impact of a psychoeducational video on posttraumatic distress and factors related to the mental health treatment seeking process among trauma care center patients receiving care following hospitalization for a serious physical injury. Method: Ninety-nine, predominantly Hispanic American (59%) and male (84%), participants were randomized to view either a psychoeducation intervention or a wound care control video. Participants were assessed at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at 1-month follow-up on posttraumatic stress reactions, attitudes toward mental health service utilization, and knowledge and self-recognition of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Results: Immediately after viewing the psychoeducational video, participants exhibited greater knowledge of PTSD symptoms and more positive beliefs about mental health treatment than those in the wound care condition. At 1-month follow-up, however, these differences were no longer maintained. Further, no significant differences in PTSD were found between the intervention and control groups. Differences in self-recognition of PTSD nearly reached significance with psychoeducation intervention participants being more likely to recognize their symptoms as mental health problems than control condition participants. Conclusion: Brief psychoeducation interventions for traumatic injury survivors may have had immediate modest effects on mental health literacy, beliefs about mental health treatment, and selfrecognition of PTSD, but were not maintained at 1-month follow-up. More comprehensive and targeted interventions may be needed to facilitate more potent and long-lasting change.