Introduction: Aging rural veterans have limited access to geriatric mental health services. The establishment of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) regional telehealth hubs, or Clinical Resource Hubs (CRHs), has the potential to improve access to specialist care via telehealth delivered across healthcare systems within each VHA region. We used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeer specialists (PS) in the Veterans Health Administration are veteran employees with lived mental health experience supporting others in recovery. While PS worked in traditional mental health settings for many years and demonstrated benefits to veteran engagement and satisfaction with health care, little is known about the best strategies to support implementation in novel, complex settings like primary care (PC). Implementation facilitation, which combined external facilitation plus national resources, was chosen to promote uptake when the VA MISSION Act of 2018 required the Veterans Health Administration to implement PS into PC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Peer specialists (PSs) are increasingly deployed in a variety of settings to provide patient-centered care. In the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), efforts are underway to integrate PSs into primary care settings. Little is known about the barriers and enablers to implementing PS services in primary care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsomnia is a prevalent experience for individuals with serious mental illness, and is one of the most common reasons for mental health referrals in the Veterans Health Administration. Insomnia also critically impacts psychiatric, cognitive and somatic outcomes. However, there is limited information about how people with serious mental illness (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBlack-white disparities in mental healthcare persist, despite efforts to eliminate them via culturally competent care. To gain insight into how providers implement culturally competent care practices, interviews were conducted with mental healthcare providers' about their self-reported behaviors with black and white clients and their perceptions of how race affects the treatment they provide. Thematic analysis was used to analyze 12 semi-structured interviews with providers from a Veterans Affairs healthcare system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe culture change movement aims to create a more home-like environment in long-term care settings, promote person-centered care, and support the well-being of staff and residents. One feature of Culture Change is the Universal Worker (UW) model where direct care workers (DCWs) are responsible for housekeeping, laundry, and activities in addition to administering medication and personal support. The longitudinal approach in the ethnographic study on which this paper is based compares data collected from one assisted living across three NIA-supported research grants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPeer specialists, or individuals with lived experience of mental health conditions who support the mental health recovery of others, often work side-by-side with traditional providers (non-peers) in the delivery of treatment groups. The present study aimed to examine group participant and peer provider experiences with peer and non-peer group co-facilitation. Data from a randomized controlled trial of Living Well, a peer and non-peer co-facilitated intervention for medical illness management for adults with serious mental illness, were utilized.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComments on the original article by Silver and Nemec (see record 2016-43088-001) regarding the recent special issue on peer-delivered services. Silver and Nemec thoughtfully raised important topics for further explanation. Especially intriguing was their commentary on what constitutes "essential peerness"; that is, what qualities or experiences are necessary/sufficient to make a peer a peer? With this editorial, the authors add to that conversation, specifically with regard to the role of peer specialists in health/wellness interventions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose Of The Study: This article explores resident autonomy in assisted living (AL) and the effects that visitors and visiting the AL have on that autonomy. We examine formal and informal policies that govern visiting in AL, stakeholders' views and enforcement of these policies, and the complex arrangements that visiting often entails in everyday life in the setting.
Design And Methods: Data are drawn from a multiyear ethnographic study of autonomy in AL.
Purpose Of The Study: To determine the extent to which structures and processes of care in multilevel settings (independent living, assisted living, and nursing homes) result in stigma in assisted living and nursing homes.
Design And Methods: Ethnographic in-depth interviews were conducted in 5 multilevel settings with 256 residents, families, and staff members. Qualitative analyses identified the themes that resulted when examining text describing either structures of care or processes of care in relation to 7 codes associated with stigma.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
May 2014
Objectives: The study sought to identify the varied types of change arising from internal and external influences in assisted living (AL) settings, expanding upon the literature's limited focus on resident decline and staff turnover and clarifying the importance of changes to life and work there.
Method: This analysis employed qualitative interviews and observations from 4 studies involving 17 ALs to identify elements of change largely absent from the literature. Case material identified by the research team members relating to persons, groups, and settings exemplifying typical changes, as well as variations across settings, are presented.
Purpose Of The Study: This article explores a clash between incoming Baby Boomers and older residents in an active adult retirement community (AARC). We examine issues of social identity and attitudes as these groups encounter each other.
Design And Methods: Data are drawn from a multiyear ethnographic study of social relations in senior housing.