{"id":35415,"date":"2018-09-25T21:37:39","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T21:37:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/09\/25\/military-seeks-volunteers-for-a-study-that-could-help-grieving-families\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:07:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:07:47","slug":"military-seeks-volunteers-for-a-study-that-could-help-grieving-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/09\/25\/military-seeks-volunteers-for-a-study-that-could-help-grieving-families\/","title":{"rendered":"Military seeks volunteers for a study that could help grieving families"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Military researchers have put out a call for surviving military family members to participate in a study that tests whether two programs can help this unique community better manage their grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study is open to those who are at least 18, and suffered the loss of a service member<\/a> who died while serving in the military or as a result of their military service on or after Sept. 11, 2001. Eligible participants are spouses, ex-spouses, adult partners, adult children, adult siblings and parents (biological, step or foster). Participants should be able to understand written and spoken English, have an active email account, and regular access to a personal computer and\/or a smartphone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study is being conducted by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences \u2014 the academic arm of the Military Health System \u2014 and Columbia University. It tests two online programs to see whether they can help grieving military families find ways to adapt and manage that grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe appreciate people\u2019s willingness to participate in the research, both potentially to help themselves, as well as to help future military family members who are affected by duty-related loss,\u201d said Dr. Stephen J. Cozza, a retired Army colonel and military psychiatrist who is a co-principal investigator on the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional information about the study and enrollment procedures is available at the Stepping Forward in Grief website<\/a>. It\u2019s funded by a $3 million, four-year grant from DoD\u2019s congressionally directed medical research program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who are chosen to participate will be given access to one of two digital programs \u2014 GriefSteps or WellnessSteps \u2014 for six months. The study is scheduled to finish in fall 2019. To date, researchers have accepted 163 people into the study; they can enroll up to 750 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBereaved military family members live in communities all around the country, and they have varying access to grief support services,\u201d said Cozza, a professor of psychiatry at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and associate director of the university\u2019s Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress. \u201cOur goal has been to try to develop programs that could be used virtually, either on a mobile device or on the computer. In addition, these programs can complement services provided by other programs committed to helping bereaved military family members<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor both the GriefSteps and WellnessSteps programs, participants will also have a guide \u2014 someone assigned to answer questions and engage them about how best to use the resources,\u201d Cozza said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe guides provide a bit of a more personal touch, but it\u2019s not a requirement of participation,\u201d he said, noting that some prefer to use the program more on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. M. Katherine Shear, psychiatry professor at the Columbia University School of Social Work, and founder and director of the university\u2019s Center for Complicated Grief, is the study\u2019s other co-principal investigator. The digital program GriefSteps was developed as a result of her work. It\u2019s based on a model of grief therapy that has been used successfully with people with complicated grief, and provides information and activities that help with successful adaptation to loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\t