Home › Social Isolation › NCT06467214

Increasing Veterans' Social Engagement and Connectedness

Who can join

Ages 18 and older · All sexes

Inclusion Criteria:

Eligible participants for Aim 1 \& Aim 2

1. Must be Veterans at the Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center or its Community-Based Outpatient Clinics who had a primary care encounter in the prior 6 months and
2. Veteran obtained a score 12, indicating social isolation, on the Lubben Social Isolation Scale (LSNS-6), a validated, 6-item social isolation measure, at the time of screening in Aim 1.

Exclusion Criteria:

For Aim 1 and Aim 2, the investigators will exclude Veterans with

1. Active suicidal ideation needing immediate mental health treatment
2. severe cognitive, hearing or speech impairment,
3. current exacerbation of severe psychiatric symptoms (e.g., active psychosis), or
4. severe illness that makes study participation not feasible.

About the study

Social isolation is a negative social determinant of health that affects 1-in-5 adults in the U.S. and 43% of Veterans. Social isolation is estimated to cost the nation $6.7 billion annually in federal healthcare spending. Yet, social isolation has rarely been the direct focus of healthcare interventions. The proposed project is a randomized controlled trial that seeks to test the effectiveness of the Increasing Veterans' Social Engagement and Connectedness (CONNECTED) intervention on social isolation among diverse Veteran groups in primary care clinics. Increasing Veterans' Social Engagement and Connectedness involves three key services delivered by peers via telehealth through individual and group sessions over 8 weeks: 1) peer support, which includes person-centered assessment for social isolation, 2) psychosocial interventions to address social isolation, and 3) navigation (i.e., connecting Veterans to social resources). Findings from this study will contribute to the VA's efforts to address social determinants of health among Veterans and to provide high quality, person-centered, and equitable care to all Veterans.

What is being tested

• CONNECTED (behavioral)
• VET BEFRIENDING (behavioral)

Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development · Participants: 264 · Started: Oct 4, 2024

Contact the study team

• Johanne Eliacin, PhD · Phone: (317) 988-5298
• Jared Ferguson, BS CRA · Phone: (317) 988-9833

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT06467214

Locations in the U.S.

Conditions

• Social Isolation

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.