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Study Looks at Quality of Mental Health Care in US Military

April 27, 2016 02:10

Study Looks at Quality of Mental Health Care in US Military

Study Looks at Quality of Mental Health Care in US Military

In a new RAND Corporation Study that evaluated the quality of mental health care in the United States military, researchers found both areas of excellence and others in need of improvement.

For the study, researchers reviewed the administrative data and medical records of 14,576 active-duty service members who were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 30,541 who were diagnosed with depression from January 2012 to June 2012. The review examined whether those service members were receiving evidence-based care in the year after diagnosis.

On the positive side, the military health system appears to perform well in administering crucial follow-up visits with patients after they are discharged from a mental health hospitalization. This is a vulnerable time for newly released patients and follow-up visits are extremely important.

The researchers also found that a large majority of patients with a diagnosis of PTSD or depression received at least one psychotherapy visit, suggesting that these patients have access to at least some mental health care.

However, the findings show a need for improvement in some areas of care. Although most patients received at least one psychotherapy visit, the number and timing of subsequent visits may be inadequate to provide evidence-based psychotherapy, according to the researchers.

Specifically, patients newly diagnosed with either PTSD or depression should have at least four psychotherapy or two medication management visits within eight weeks of their diagnosis. Only one-third of patients newly diagnosed with PTSD and under a quarter of those with depression received this type of care.

The study also looked at differences in health care quality according to service branch — Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy — and TRICARE region (North, South, West, and Overseas) as well as across service member characteristics. TRICARE is a health care program of the military health system.

While the researchers found differences in the quality of care provided for PTSD and depression, no military branch or region consistently outperformed or underperformed relative to the others. The findings also showed no consistent patterns of variation in the quality of care by patient characteristics, such as age, gender, pay grade, race-ethnicity, or deployment history.

The findings are among the first results from the RAND study that is the largest, most-comprehensive independent look at how the U.S. military health system treats service members with PTSD and depression.

“Regardless of where they serve, where they live or who they are, all members of the U.S. armed forces should receive high-quality mental health care,” said Dr. Kimberly A. Hepner, lead author of the study and a clinical psychologist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.

“Developing transparent assessments of care that can be routinely reviewed both internally and externally are essential to ensuring excellent care for all service members and their families.”

Source: RAND Corporation

 
Soldier talking with therapist photo by shutterstock.

Virtual Reality Therapy Controlled Study for War Veterans with PTSD. Preliminary Results.

April 27, 2016 02:00

Virtual Reality Therapy Controlled Study for War Veterans with PTSD. Preliminary Results.

http:--ebooks.iospress.nl-content-imagesRelated Articles

Virtual Reality Therapy Controlled Study for War Veterans with PTSD. Preliminary Results.

Stud Health Technol Inform. 2009;144:269-72

Authors: Gamito P, Oliveira J, Morais D, Oliveira S, Duarte N, Saraiva T, Pombal M, Rosa P

Abstract

More than 30 years after signing truces, there are still around 20,000 Portuguese war veterans that fill PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) diagnose criteria. Despite many of them attending therapy, the outcome is not cheerful. In this way, a research protocol was devised to investigate the opportunity of adopting virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) to reduce PTSD symptomathology. This protocol consists on a controlled study (VRET vs. traditional psychotherapy vs. waiting list), where in the VRET condition patients will be graded by being exposed to a virtual reality jungle scenario. The activating episodes, that are comprised of three cues (ambush, mortar blasting and waiting for injured rescue), are repeated 3 times each session. The cues’ intensity and frequency increase from session to session. Patients are exposed to the VR world through a HMD (Head Mounted Display). This paper reports on the ongoing research where 4 VRET patients that filled CAPS DSM-IV PTSD criteria were assessed at pretreatment and at the middle of treatment (5th session). Results from IES and SCL-90R dimensions showed no statistical significant differences between assessments, with exception to obsession-compulsion dimension of SCL-90R (F(1;3)=21.235; p<.05), indicating a decrease in obsessive thoughts. However, through descriptive analysis, it was observed a reduction in all IES and SCL-90R dimensions, except for hostility and psychoticism of SCL-90R.

PMID: 19592779 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

Judge Sends War Vet with PTSD to Jail, Then Joins Him – LawNewz

April 27, 2016 01:55

Judge Sends War Vet with PTSD to Jail, Then Joins Him – LawNewz


Globalnews.ca

Judge Sends War Vet with PTSD to Jail, Then Joins Him
LawNewz
Though Serna left the Army, he suffered from PTSD. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, sufferers face a wide range of problems: They experience flashbacks of traumatic events, have terrible dreams, may feel intense guilt, no longer …
Concerned about veteran with PTSD, judge orders him to jail and serves the time with himABA Journal
Judge shares cell to help decorated veteran with PTSD in N.C.Tribune-Review
N.C. judge spends night in jail to help former soldier with PTSDGlobalnews.ca
Above the Law –Chicago Tribune –Minnesota Public Radio News (blog)
all 34 news articles »

VA study on whether dogs can heal vets with PTSD has critics – Frederick News Post (subscription)

April 27, 2016 01:50

VA study on whether dogs can heal vets with PTSD has critics – Frederick News Post (subscription)


Frederick News Post (subscription)

VA study on whether dogs can heal vets with PTSD has critics
Frederick News Post (subscription)
In this Thursday, March 24, 2016 photo, Army veteran Joe Aguirre and his service dog, Munger, walk back to their truck after lunch in Fayetteville, N.C. The Department of Veterans Affairs is in the middle of a multi-year study to determine whether the …
Do dogs help vets with PTSD heal?TriValley Central

all 4 news articles »

Dogs graduate to help veterans combat PTSD – ABC10.com

April 27, 2016 01:37

Dogs graduate to help veterans combat PTSD – ABC10.com


ABC10.com

Dogs graduate to help veterans combat PTSD
ABC10.com
Sunday was graduation day for a group of very special dogs. The highly trained K9s will help veterans cope with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Nonprofit group 4 Paws 2 Freedom is service dog training group that pairs veterans and dogs together.
VA study on whether dogs can heal vets with PTSD has criticsGreensboro News & Record

all 2 news articles »

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