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PTSDPORTAL-PTSDNCT06479447

Patient Outcome Reporting for Timely Assessments of Life With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

A study testing PORTAL-PTSD in people with PTSD, run by University of Chicago at 2 sites in United States.

Recruiting

Looking for participants now. Contact the study team or a site below to ask about taking part.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

This study aims to implement and evaluate a more timely approach to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis and management, entitled Patient Outcome Reporting for Timely Assessments of Life with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PORTAL-PTSD) in a primary care setting with a high prevalence of trauma… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
PTSD
What is being tested?
PORTAL-PTSD
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
17,000 participants
Where
2 sitesUnited States
Study dates
15 Jul 2024to 14 Jul 2026
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

None listed.

Who cannot join

  • N/A

Trial locations and contacts

2 sites in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Ainur Kagarmanova, MS, MA contact

5742865712

akagarmanova@bsd.uchicago.edu

Erin Staab, MPH contact

5072619859

estaab@bsd.uchicago.edu

United States2 sites, 2 recruiting
  • CFHC South Chicago

    Chicago, Illinois, 60617

    Melissa Duplantis, 773-768-5000, mduplantis@chicagofamilyhealth.org

    Recruiting
  • CFHC Chicago Lawn

    Chicago, Illinois, 60629

    Melissa Duplantis, PsyD, 773-768-5000, mduplantis@chicagofamilyhealth.org

    Recruiting

Other trials in United States

About this study

This study aims to implement and evaluate a more timely approach to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis and management, entitled Patient Outcome Reporting for Timely Assessments of Life with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PORTAL-PTSD) in a primary care setting with a high prevalence of trauma, specifically the South Side of Chicago, in partnership with Chicago Family Health Center (CFHC).

Read the detailed description

Traumatic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are highly prevalent and lead to increases in psychiatric and cardiovascular disease. People residing in environments entrenched in community violence or experiencing assault are at especially high risk of PTSD. However, many people with PTSD are not diagnosed or treated. Current practices for identifying PTSD are subject to bias because diagnosis depends on clinician- or patient-initiated discussion of trauma-related symptoms, and stigma, knowledge, time, and access to resources are often obstacles to these discussions. System-level solutions are needed to increase diagnosis and treatment of PTSD. Systematic screening protocols can help address bias in who is screened. A keystone to screening for PTSD could be to screen patients when they are at clinic visits. While no formal recommendation exists for PTSD screening, clinics who serve patients at a high risk for PTSD, for example, the Veterans Affairs, have implemented screening at clinic visits. Use of patient portals may provide another promising strategy to address barriers to PTSD screening. In the investigators' previous work, a population health approach was used to screen for and assess depression symptoms, employing the patient portal as a tool to reach out to patients. The investigators found that it resulted in a higher screening rate and identified more patients with moderate-severe depression. After identifying patients with PTSD, the next necessary step is to provide evidence-based treatments, like integrated primary-care behavioral health (PCBH). Integrated primary care-behavioral health (PCBH) is a model of care in which the behavioral health and primary care teams are collocated with the primary care clinic and work together to address the biopsychosocial factors that are affecting a patient's health. PCBH has been found to be less stigmatizing for patients with PTSD and models of care that are proactive and provide telephonic care management have been found to increase treatment engagement for PTSD. Thus, coupling screening for PTSD with a PCBH model may be a highly effective strategy to improving PTSD outcomes. Therefore, the investigators' goal is to implement and evaluate a novel strategy for screening and management of PTSD in a primary care setting with a high prevalence of trauma, specifically the South Side of Chicago. In partnership with Chicago Family Health Center, a federally qualified health center (FQHC) with 5 clinical sites and PCBH, the investigators aim to 1) Implement a system-level screening and management strategy for PTSD. The investigators will implement a process of clinic visit and population health screening for PTSD leveraging the patient portal with linkage to care within a PCBH model and 2) Evaluate a system-level screening and management strategy for PTSD. With these aims, this grant will lead to increased understanding of the utility and feasibility of screening and managing PTSD in an FQHC that serves a population with high rates of trauma exposure. If proven effective, the investigators will evaluate this model of care in a multi-center trial of FQHCs.

Conditions
PTSD
Being tested
PORTAL-PTSD
Keywords
behavioral health, PTSD, PTSD screening
Medical subject headings
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • PORTAL-PTSDOther

    Patients will be eligible if they are 18+ years, have had a primary care visit in the last 2 years, and have not been screened for PTSD in the last year. The validated PC-PTSD-5 (Primary Care Post Traumatic Stress Disorder-5) screener will be used. Clinics will implement visit-based and population health screening for patients enrolled in the patient portal who have not been screened for PTSD in the last year and have had a clinic appointment in the last 2 years. The PCBH care manager or patient navigator will follow-up with patients every 2 weeks to ensure they have been connected to care and re-measure their PTSD symptoms. The follow-up calls will continue until symptom remission, after which follow-ups will occur quarterly for 6 months. Primary care clinicians will receive training on trauma-informed care and PTSD management, and will be surveyed at baseline, immediately after training, and 6 months-post intervention to evaluate changes in their knowledge of trauma-informed care.

Study groups in NCT06479447
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
PORTAL-PTSD InterventionExperimentalChicago Family Health Center clinics are randomly assigned to any of the 5 steps. The PORTAL-PTSD intervention is implemented after clinic staff and clinicians have been trained.
Receives: Other: PORTAL-PTSD
No PORTAL-PTSD InterventionNo interventionStandard of care offered to all patients

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. PTSD screening rates

    Number and proportion of patients who were screened for PTSD, as determined by the validated Primary Care Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder screener (PC-PTSD-5).

    Measured: every 6 months post-intervention for 2 years

  2. PTSD diagnoses rates

    Number and proportion of patients who screen positive for PTSD, as determined by the validated Primary Care Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder screener (PC-PTSD-5).

    Measured: every 6 months post-intervention for 2 years

  3. PTSD prescribed treatment rates

    Treatment rate is measured as proportion of patients with PTSD and prescribed treatment out of total patients diagnosed with PTSD. Receipt of treatment is defined by completion of PCBH services or at least 3-months of therapy for PTSD for patients who choose to not receive PCBH services.

    Measured: every 6 months post-intervention for 2 years

  4. PTSD symptoms severity

    Patient-reported improvement in PTSD symptoms severity as measured by the 20-item Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL).

    Measured: every 6 months post-intervention for 2 years

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted28 Jun 2024
  2. Study start15 Jul 2024
  3. Primary completion14 Jul 2026 (estimated)
  4. Study completion14 Jul 2026 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Health services research
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
17,000 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06479447
Sponsor's protocol ID
IRB23-1759
Other IDs
5P50MD017349-04
Acronym
PORTAL-PTSD
Status last verified
May 2025
First submitted
24 Jun 2024
Last updated
10 Nov 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Undecided

Publications

  • Mensah GA, Collins PY. Understanding mental health for the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases. Glob Heart. 2015 Sep;10(3):221-4. doi: 10.1016/j.gheart.2015.08.003.

    PubMed 26407518
  • Druss BG, Zhao L, Von Esenwein S, Morrato EH, Marcus SC. Understanding excess mortality in persons with mental illness: 17-year follow up of a nationally representative US survey. Med Care. 2011 Jun;49(6):599-604. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0b013e31820bf86e.

    PubMed 21577183
  • Beristianos MH, Yaffe K, Cohen B, Byers AL. PTSD and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease in Aging Veterans. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2016 Mar;24(3):192-200. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2014.12.003. Epub 2014 Dec 9.

    PubMed 25555625
  • O'Donnell CJ, Schwartz Longacre L, Cohen BE, Fayad ZA, Gillespie CF, Liberzon I, Pathak GA, Polimanti R, Risbrough V, Ursano RJ, Vander Heide RS, Yancy CW, Vaccarino V, Sopko G, Stein MB. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Cardiovascular Disease: State of the Science, Knowledge Gaps, and Research Opportunities. JAMA Cardiol. 2021 Oct 1;6(10):1207-1216. doi: 10.1001/jamacardio.2021.2530.

    PubMed 34259831
  • Liu MY, Li N, Li WA, Khan H. Association between psychosocial stress and hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurol Res. 2017 Jun;39(6):573-580. doi: 10.1080/01616412.2017.1317904. Epub 2017 Apr 17.

    PubMed 28415916
  • Wirtz PH, von Kanel R. Psychological Stress, Inflammation, and Coronary Heart Disease. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2017 Sep 20;19(11):111. doi: 10.1007/s11886-017-0919-x.

    PubMed 28932967
  • Hackett RA, Steptoe A. Type 2 diabetes mellitus and psychological stress - a modifiable risk factor. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2017 Sep;13(9):547-560. doi: 10.1038/nrendo.2017.64. Epub 2017 Jun 30.

    PubMed 28664919
  • Kubzansky LD, Koenen KC, Spiro A 3rd, Vokonas PS, Sparrow D. Prospective study of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and coronary heart disease in the Normative Aging Study. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007 Jan;64(1):109-16. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.64.1.109.

    PubMed 17199060
  • Coughlin SS. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Cardiovascular Disease. Open Cardiovasc Med J. 2011;5:164-70. doi: 10.2174/1874192401105010164. Epub 2011 Jul 11.

    PubMed 21792377
  • Schein J, Houle C, Urganus A, Cloutier M, Patterson-Lomba O, Wang Y, King S, Levinson W, Guerin A, Lefebvre P, Davis LL. Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in the United States: a systematic literature review. Curr Med Res Opin. 2021 Dec;37(12):2151-2161. doi: 10.1080/03007995.2021.1978417. Epub 2021 Sep 23.

    PubMed 34498953

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing PORTAL-PTSD in people with PTSD, run by University of Chicago at 2 sites in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 0 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 10 Nov 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 2 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Ainur Kagarmanova, MS, MA (5742865712, akagarmanova@bsd.uchicago.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

PTSD screening rates (time frame: every 6 months post-intervention for 2 years). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT06479447, which also lists 10 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 10 Nov 2025.

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