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Empowerment Program to Reduce Treatment of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Veterans With Spinal Cord Injury
Sponsor: VA Office of Research and Development
Summary
Antimicrobial resistance is a major public health concern that worsens healthcare outcomes. Antibiotic resistant organisms occur more often in Veterans with spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D) given their frequent exposure to antibiotics, recurrent hospitalizations, and common use of urinary catheter devices. Veterans with SCI/D are also at risk for overtreatment with antibiotics when they do not need them, particularly for over-diagnosed urinary tract infections. The investigators plan to create a patient empowerment program with input of Veterans with SCI/D \[and their providers\] to help guide their decisions and next steps when they have a change in bladder symptoms. The program will give Veterans with SCI/D the tools to speak up to their provider and advocate for themselves to avoid receiving unnecessary antibiotics. This program is highly innovative, as it puts Veterans with SCI/D in charge of thoughtful antibiotic use, or antibiotic stewardship.
Official title: Direct to Consumer Empowerment Program to Reduce Treatment of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Veterans With Spinal Cord Injury and Neurogenic Bladder
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
30
Start Date
2026-07-01
Completion Date
2032-06-30
Last Updated
2026-04-02
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
Empowerment Program
Enrolled participants will receive the program via email and/or mail. In addition, participants will be contacted by a member of the research team to conduct empowerment training. This training will entail walking the participant through the training manual and each of the program's materials. Training will also include an access plan for Veterans to employ when they have genitourinary symptoms and education on how to use the bladder symptom-assessment decision-support aid (the MedStar Urinary Symptom Questionnaire bladder symptom-assessment tool). The access plan will suggest that the Veteran review the empowerment program when they have concerning genitourinary symptoms and decide how they will contact their provider or health care nurse. In addition, a time will be set up for participants to engage in role-playing with a member of the research team to trial the use of the empowerment tool as it should be used in a clinical setting.
Locations (1)
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX
Houston, Texas, United States