Persistent distress related to systemic racism among black veterans in the United States.

Background: Distress related to systemic racism in the public service and healthcare systems is linked to adverse mental health sequelae in racial and ethnic minority populations. Emerging research has found that distress related to racism may impact military veterans, an increasingly racially and ethnically diverse segment of the US population who are at increased risk of mental health problems relative to non-veterans. To date, however, no known study has examined longitudinal trends in distress related to systemic racism in this population.

COVID-19-related media consumption and posttraumatic stress symptoms in U.S. military veterans: A nationally representative, longitudinal study.

Purpose: To examine the association between COVID-19 media consumption and pandemic-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in U.S. veterans.

Automated Text Messaging During COVID-19: Patient Feedback to Increase Adoption.

Automated text messaging interventions can effectively improve self-care and were used to support the U.S. Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) public health outreach during the COVID pandemic.

Development and cross-sectional evaluation of a text message protocol to support mental health well-being.

Coping with stressors related to the coronavirus disease (COVID) pandemic has caused major mental health challenges. Text message interventions are identified as helpful for promoting health behavior self-management. Drawing from cognitive-behavioral theory (CBT), U.

Race/ethnic differences in prevalence and correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder in World Trade Center responders: Results from a population-based, health monitoring cohort.

Objective: This study evaluated race/ethnic differences in the prevalence and correlates of World Trade Center (WTC) related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in WTC responders.

Method: Data were analyzed from a population-based, health monitoring cohort of 15,440 nontraditional (i.e.

Dynamic interplay between PTSD symptoms and posttraumatic growth in older military veterans.

Background: Posttraumatic growth (PTG) refers to positive psychological changes that may occur after experiencing a traumatic event. While cross-sectional studies have suggested that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with greater PTG, few longitudinal studies have evaluated interrelationships between PTSD and PTG. Further, little is known about which specific symptom clusters of PTSD and coping mechanisms may drive PTG over time.

Depression and Cognitive Dysfunction in Older U.S. Military Veterans: Moderating Effects of BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism and Physical Exercise.

Objective: Depression is associated with increased risk for cognitive dysfunction, yet little is known about genetic and behavioral factors that may moderate this association. Using data from a nationally representative sample of older U.S.

Usage of and Attitudes Toward Health Information Exchange Before and After System Implementation in a VA Medical Center.

A quality improvement project demonstrated a meaningful improvement in VA staff satisfaction regarding access to community-based health records after implementation of an externally developed health information exchange system.

BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and posttraumatic stress symptoms in U.S. military veterans: Protective effect of physical exercise.

The Met allele of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism is associated with reduced levels of BDNF release, heightened hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis reactivity, and impaired fear extinction. As a result, Met allele carriers may be at risk for greater severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. In this study, we examined the relationship between the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism and PTSD symptoms in two nationally representative samples of European American U.

Impact of a tailored training on advanced electronic medical records use for providers in a Veterans Health Administration Medical System.

This quality improvement project evaluated the impact of a tailored, evidence-based training strategy on advanced electronic medical record (EMR) use for Veterans Administration (VA) clinicians experienced in using the EMR. After developing the curriculum, an online needs assessment tool evaluated 20 clinicians' competency gaps. Responses were used to prioritize clinicians' training needs.

A culturally adapted family intervention for rural Pacific Island veterans with PTSD.

Unlabelled: The Veterans Affairs mission to provide equitable, accessible, and patient-centered care necessitates that culturally appropriate interventions are available when cultural differences may jeopardize engagement in care. However, within the VA, wounded warriors residing in rural areas in the Pacific Islands have been offered interventions that were developed and tested using largely urban mainland populations. The objectives of this article were to (a) document the cultural adaptation of a cognitive-behavioral clinical intervention for use by rural Pacific Island veterans, and (b) report feasibility data for the intervention.

Factors impacting rural Pacific Island veterans' access to care: A qualitative examination.

Pacific Island veterans suffer from greater severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared with Caucasian veterans but face substantial barriers to mental health care. However, the factors that may dissuade or facilitate veterans in the Pacific Islands from seeking mental health care are not known. The main aim of this study was to identify how internal and external factors interact to impact wounded warriors' access to and use of mental health services.

Diverse veterans' pre- and post-intervention perceptions of home telemental health for posttraumatic stress disorder delivered via tablet.

Objectives Home telemental health services have the potential to overcome many individual and systemic barriers to care facing military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. However, little is known about the home telemental health-related attitudes and experiences of highly underserved rural or ethnically, racially diverse veterans. This study evaluated whether ethnically/racially diverse U.

A measure of perceived family stigma: Validity in a military sample.

The primary aim of the present study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the newly developed Perceived Family Stigma Scale (PFSS) in a diverse sample of 623 military veterans. The PFSS is a 4-item scale that has acceptable internal consistency (α = .86) and strong interitem correlations (r = .

How Veterans With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Comorbid Health Conditions Utilize eHealth to Manage Their Health Care Needs: A Mixed-Methods Analysis.

Background: Mental health conditions are prevalent among US veterans and pose a number of self-management and health care navigation challenges. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with comorbid chronic medical conditions (CMCs) is especially common, in both returning Iraq or Afghanistan and earlier war-era veterans. Patient-facing electronic health (eHealth) technology may offer innovative strategies to support these individuals' needs.

Improving assessment of race, ethnicity, and culture to further veteran PTSD research.

Objective: Racial and ethnic disparities in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its treatment have been documented for both civilians and military veterans. To better understand the presence of disparities and factors that might contribute to them, accurate assessment of race and ethnicity is critical; however there still remains unstandardized assessment and challenges to implementation. The authors highlight specific problems in the assessment of race and ethnicity in research, such as missing data, misclassification, classification categories too limited to reflect many peoples' social identities, and inappropriate aggregation of ethnoracial subgroups.

E-mental health preferences of Veterans with and without probable posttraumatic stress disorder.

Mental health care practices supported by electronic communication, referred to as e-mental health, offer ways to increase access to mental health resources. In recent years, e-mental health interventions using clinical video teleconferencing, Internet-based interventions, social networking sites, and telephones have emerged as viable, cost-effective methods to augment traditional service delivery. Whereas some research evaluates attitudes about e-mental health, few studies have assessed interest in using these approaches in a contemporary sample of U.

Risk and resilience factors associated with posttraumatic stress in ethno-racially diverse National Guard members in Hawai׳i.

This study examinedrisk and resilience factors associated with posttraumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS) in an ethno-racially diverse sample of Hawai׳i National Guard members comprised of Native Hawaiians, Filipino Americans, Japanese Americans, and European Americans. In the full sample, identifying as Japanese American and higher scores on measures of perceived social support and psychological resilience were negatively associated with PTSS, while Army Guard (vs. Air Guard) status and stronger family norms against disclosing mental health problems were positively associated with PTSS.

A pilot trial of telephone-based collaborative care management for PTSD among Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans.

Background: Collaborative care and care management are cornerstones of Primary Care-Mental Health Integration (PC-MHI) and have been shown to reduce depressive symptoms. Historically, the standard of Veterans Affairs (VA) collaborative care was referring patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to specialty care. Although referral to evidence-based specialty care is ideal, many veterans with PTSD do not receive such care.

Applying behavior change theory to technology promoting veteran mental health care seeking.

Despite the availability of effective mental health interventions, the vast majority of veterans with a mental disorder underutilize psychological services. Contemporary research has revealed that several factors such as low education, stigma, stoicism, lack of knowledge, and negative beliefs about mental health services are associated with veterans' underutilization of services. In this article, the authors provide an overview of factors that affect symptomatic veterans' decisions about whether to seek mental health services.

Asian American and Pacific Islander military veterans in the United States: health service use and perceived barriers to mental health services.

Objectives: We (1) compared use of various health services nationally between Asian American and Pacific Islander (AA/PI) veterans and veterans of other racial/ethnic groups and (2) specifically compared perceived barriers and stigma related to mental health services.

Methods: Using bivariate and multivariable statistics, we analyzed a population-weighted sample of 8315 veterans from the 2010 National Survey of Veterans and a random sample of 567 recent veterans from Hawaii.

Results: A total of 1.

Deployment-related sequelae and treatment utilization in rural and urban war veterans in Hawaii.

This study compared common deployment-related health issues and correlates of mental health service utilization among rural and urban veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation New Dawn (OND) living in Hawaii. Frequency of utilization of a broad range of mental health resources, including clergy/spiritual leaders, videoconference/online programs, and traditional/alternative healers, was also characterized. A random sample of 116 rural and 117 urban ethnoracially diverse veterans completed a mail survey.