The Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense (VA/DoD) Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD recommends against the use of benzodiazepines. Despite the recommendation, clinicians continue potentially inappropriate benzodiazepine prescribing practices for veterans with PTSD. We designed an educational product aimed at decreasing benzodiazepine use in PTSD care. Using VA data, the booklet was mailed to over 1300 New England veterans. Veterans were advised to discuss the booklet's information with their medical provider on their next appointment. The intervention resulted in a significant decrease in benzodiazepine use in veterans with PTSD, with 66% of the sample showing a dose reduction from pre- to post-booklet time points. Longitudinal analyses noted that rural veterans were significantly more likely to reduce benzodiazepine use than those in urban settings. Direct to consumer education appears to be an effective strategy to empower rural veterans to improve benzodiazepine prescribing safety and quality.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10865-020-00194-7 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Weight Loss in Male and Female Active-duty Service Members: A Weight Management Study.
Mil Med
January 2025
Mental Health Care Line, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA 92161, USA.
Background: Overweight and obesity are critical public health concerns with relevance to U.S. military personnel, as active duty service members must meet physical fitness and body composition standards.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAudio-Based Care for Managing Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders in Adults: A Systematic Review.
Med Care
February 2025
RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC.
Background: Telehealth services can increase access to care by reducing barriers. Telephone-administered care, in particular, requires few resources and may be preferred by communities in areas that are systemically underserved. Understanding the effectiveness of audio-based care is important to combat the current mental health crisis and inform discussions related to reimbursement privileges.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSmoking as a Marker of Comorbid Vulnerability Among Persons with Probable Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Who Engage in Hazardous Drinking.
Subst Use Misuse
January 2025
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA.
Persons with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to those without evince high rates of hazardous drinking, or patterns of alcohol consumption that increase the risk for harmful consequences. One potential marker of vulnerability for PTSD-hazardous drinking comorbidity may be smoking behavior. Individuals with PTSD have a higher prevalence of smoking and smoke at higher rates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevalence and correlates of postpartum PTSD following emergency cesarean sections: implications for perinatal mental health care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
BMC Psychol
January 2025
Department of Midwifery, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece.
Background: The increasing awareness of the emotional consequences of emergency cesarean deliveries (C-sections) highlights their substantial role in fostering postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to evaluate the prevalence and determinants of PTSD following emergency C-sections, as well as the implications of these events on maternal mental health and welfare.
Methods: Undertaking extensive searches of Scopus, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar, we have incorporated studies published from 2013 onwards that examined the occurrence of PTSD following emergency C-sections.
Towards an understanding of readiness for trauma-focussed therapy in post-traumatic stress disorder: A conceptual integration of empirical data and theoretical constructs.
Clin Psychol Rev
December 2024
Orygen, 35 Poplar Rd, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia; Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. Electronic address:
For people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the concept of being 'ready' for trauma-focused therapy (TFT) has emerged from research as an important factor in initiation and completion of therapy. Lack of readiness of individual service users has been proposed as a reason for poor uptake of TFT in large implementation programs. However, there has been almost no investigation of what constitutes readiness for TFT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant 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!