Feedback from recently returned veterans on an anonymous web-based brief alcohol intervention.

Addict Sci Clin Pract

Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D), Northwest Center of Excellence, Veterans Affairs (VA) Puget Sound Health Care System, 1100 Olive Way, Suite 1400, Seattle, WA 98101, USA.

Published: August 2012

Background: Veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) are at increased risk for alcohol misuse, and innovative methods are needed to improve their access to alcohol screening and brief interventions (SBI). This study adapted an electronic SBI (e-SBI) website shown to be efficacious in college students for OEF/OIF veterans and reported findings from interviews with OEF/OIF veterans about their impressions of the e-SBI.

Methods: Outpatient veterans of OEF/OIF who drank ≥3 days in the past week were recruited from a US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Deployment Health Clinic waiting room. Veterans privately pretested the anonymous e-SBI then completed individual semistructured audio-recorded interviews. Their responses were analyzed using template analysis to explore domains identified a priori as well as emergent domains.

Results: During interviews, all nine OEF/OIF veterans (1 woman and 8 men) indicated they had received feedback for risky alcohol consumption. Participants generally liked the standard-drinks image, alcohol-related caloric and monetary feedback, and the website's brevity and anonymity (a priori domains). They also experienced challenges with portions of the e-SBI assessment and viewed feedback regarding alcohol risk and normative drinking as problematic, but described potential benefits derived from the e-SBI (emergent domains). The most appealing e-SBIs would ensure anonymity and provide personalized transparent feedback about alcohol-related risk, consideration of the context for drinking, strategies to reduce drinking, and additional resources for veterans with more severe alcohol misuse.

Conclusions: Results of this qualitative exploratory study suggest e-SBI may be an acceptable strategy for increasing OEF/OIF veteran access to evidenced-based alcohol SBI.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3507636PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1940-0640-7-17DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

oef/oif veterans
12
veterans
9
interviews oef/oif
8
alcohol
7
oef/oif
6
feedback
5
e-sbi
5
feedback returned
4
returned veterans
4
veterans anonymous
4

Similar Publications

Background: Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), also known as "service connection," have been shown to reduce homelessness and poverty, increase mental health engagement, and improve clinical outcomes. However, gender and race disparities in PTSD service connection have been described in Vietnam and post-Vietnam era Veterans.

Methods: Post-traumatic stress disorder service connection outcomes were assessed in a nationally representative, randomly selected, gender-stratified, prospective panel of 960 Veterans who served during Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aims: Epidemiological studies show that despite the episodic nature, the long-term trajectory of depression can be variable. This study evaluated the heterogeneity of 10-year trajectory of major depressive disorder (MDD) related service utilization and associated clinical characteristics among US Veterans with a first diagnosis after 9/11.

Methods: Using a cohort design, electronic health record data for 293,265 Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) Veterans were extracted to identify those with MDD between 2001 and 2021 with a full preceding year of clinical data and 10 years following the diagnosis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on identifying self-reported military and occupational exposures among Veterans, such as Agent Orange and chemical warfare agents, through the Million Veteran Program, which gathers health data from over a million US Veterans.
  • Over 500,000 participants detailed their military experiences, revealing significant differences in reported exposures based on factors like service era, combat deployment, and occupation, with Vietnam-era Veterans primarily reporting Agent Orange exposure.
  • The findings indicate that exposure patterns varied notably by demographics, with combat-related occupations showing higher exposure reports compared to healthcare roles, aligning with previous research on US military Veterans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: The goal of this study was to estimate all-cause mortality among Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn era service members and veterans and to identify protective and risk factors for mortality.

Methods: Using 20 years of longitudinal data from the Millennium Cohort Study (2001-2021), sequential Cox proportional hazard models were conducted to examine demographic, military, and health-related characteristics associated with all-cause mortality among service members and veterans.

Results: Among 201,619 participants, 3806 (1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Many veterans experience intimate partner violence (IPV) and risk factors for this include things like combat experiences, PTSD, and depression.
  • The study looked at 49 male veterans to see if problems in their brain, specifically in the limbic system, relate to their likelihood of committing IPV.
  • Results showed that veterans with PTSD, depression, or other issues were more likely to engage in IPV, especially if they had more stress from war.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!