Factors Affecting Adoption of Coordinated Anxiety Learning and Management (CALM) in Veterans' Affairs Community-Based Outpatient Clinics.

Purpose: Many US military veterans experience anxiety, depression, and trauma-related disorders. A major goal of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has been to increase access to evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) such as cognitive-behavioral therapy to address veterans' substantial health burden. However, despite widespread implementation of EBPs throughout the VHA, smaller clinics that often serve rural veterans face barriers to delivering these interventions.

The Influence of Racial/Ethnic Discrimination Experiences on Cigarette Craving for African American and Hispanic Smokers.

Background: Despite African Americans and Hispanics smoking equal or fewer cigarettes than White smokers, they experience more smoking-related diseases and have lower cessation rates, possibly due to cultural stress. This study examined the influence of racial/ethnic discrimination experiences in comparison to a general negative affect experience on cigarette craving among African American and Hispanic smokers.

Methods: African American and Hispanic smokers (N = 34) completed two writing tasks: one to elicit distressing experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination and another to elicit distressing experiences of academic/job-related failure.

The Impact of Co-occurring Anxiety and Alcohol Use Disorders on Video Telehealth Utilization Among Rural Veterans.

Co-occurring anxiety and alcohol use disorders lead to poorer treatment outcomes for both disorders. Compounding risk for poor outcomes related to these disorders, individuals living in rural areas face barriers receiving evidence-based mental health treatment. Video to home telehealth (VTH) has been implemented broadly within the Veterans Health Administration to improve access to care for rural veterans.

Cannabis use disorder among veterans: Comorbidity and mental health treatment utilization.

Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is the most common illicit substance use disorder in the United States and is related to a range of functional impairment. CUD is associated with comorbid mental health disorders and other substance use disorders, compounding impairment from either type of disorder alone. U.

The Impact of Integrating Physical Health into a Brief CBT Approach for Medically Ill Veterans.

The current study explored the use and preliminary outcomes of physical health treatment elements integrated into a traditional brief cognitive behavioral therapy (bCBT) approach for medically ill veterans with depression and/or anxiety. Data were collected as part of a pragmatic randomized trial examining patient outcomes of bCBT versus an enhanced usual care condition. bCBT was delivered to participants by Veterans Health Administration (VA) mental health providers in the primary care setting.

Recent Advances in Delivering Mental Health Treatment via Video to Home.

Purpose Of Review: Telemental health has rapidly evolved as technology and policy advances have allowed new and innovative approaches, including the remote delivery of services directly to patients' homes. This review examined the literature on video to home (VTH) delivery of mental health services to synthesize information regarding (1) the comparative clinical effectiveness of VTH to in-person mental health treatment, (2) impact of VTH on treatment adherence, (3) patient and provider satisfaction with VTH, (4) cost effectiveness of VTH, and (5) clinical considerations for VTH use.

Recent Findings: Clinical effectiveness, treatment adherence, and patient satisfaction outcomes are comparable for VTH and in-person delivery of psychotherapy and psychiatric consultation services.

Integrated Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Improves Illness Intrusiveness in Veterans With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: Progressive illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) impart a high level of physical and psychological burden. Evidence-based psychotherapies hold the potential to improve perceptions of physical health impairment, yet few studies have documented these effects.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of brief cognitive behavioral therapy (bCBT) on disease-related illness intrusiveness.

The Role of Affect and Coping in Diabetes Self-Management in Rural Adults with Uncontrolled Diabetes and Depressive Symptoms.

Many patients with diabetes have poorly controlled blood sugar levels and remain at risk for serious diabetes complications, despite access to effective diabetes treatments and services. Using the transactional model of stress and coping framework, the study investigated the contributions of affect (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule) and coping (maladaptive and adaptive coping from the Brief Cope) on diabetes self-management behaviors, namely diet and exercise. One hundred seventy-eight rural adults with uncontrolled diabetes and moderate depressive symptoms completed the measures.

Delivery of mental health treatment to combat veterans with psychiatric diagnoses and TBI histories.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and mental health (MH) disorders are prevalent in combat veterans returning from Afghanistan and/or Iraq (hereafter referred to as returning veterans). Accurate estimates of service utilization for veterans with and without TBI exposure (referred to as TBI history) are imperative in order to provide high quality healthcare to returning veterans. We examined associations between TBI history and MH service utilization in a subsample of returning veterans who were newly diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and/or anxiety in the 2010 fiscal year (N = 55,458).

The effects of age, education, and treatment on physical, sexual and body concern symptoms among multimorbid, colorectal cancer survivors.

Objective: Less is known about longitudinal changes in quality of life between treatment completion and early survivorship among multimorbid cancer survivors. The current study describes longitudinal changes in quality of life among a multimorbid cohort of US Veterans diagnosed and treated for colorectal cancer.

Materials And Methods: A sample of 68 multimorbid adults with colon and/or rectal cancer who received one or more treatment options (surgery, chemo or radiation therapy) was recruited.

Identification of Anxiety Symptom Clusters in Patients with COPD: Implications for Assessment and Treatment.

Background: Treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is palliative, and quality of life is important. Increased understanding of correlates of quality of life and its domains could help clinicians and researchers better tailor COPD treatments and better support patients engaging in those treatments or other important self-management behaviors.

Purpose: Anxiety is common in those with COPD; however, overlap of physical and emotional symptoms complicates its assessment.

Implementing brief cognitive behavioral therapy in primary care: A pilot study.

Effective implementation strategies are needed to improve the adoption of evidence-based psychotherapy in primary care settings. This study provides pilot data on the test of an implementation strategy conducted as part of a multisite randomized controlled trial examining a brief cognitive-behavioral therapy versus usual care for medically ill patients in primary care, using a hybrid (type II) effectiveness/implementation design. The implementation strategy was multifaceted and included (1) modular-based online clinician training, (2) treatment fidelity auditing with expert feedback, and (3) internal and external facilitation to provide ongoing consultation and support of practice.

Improving secondary stroke self-care among underserved ethnic minority individuals: a randomized clinical trial of a pilot intervention.

The overall purpose of this study was to pilot a multibehavioral, brief, stroke self-care treatment adapted for implementation with underserved racial/ethnic minority groups and to test the moderating effects of anxiety and depression on engagement in secondary stroke-prevention behaviors. Fifty-two participants were randomized to the secondary stroke prevention (STOP) (N = 27) or usual care (N = 25) group. The STOP program consisted of 3 culturally tailored information sessions and goal-setting activities that were delivered in person by a research assistant.