Psychosocial Factors that Shape Substance Abuse and Related Mental Health of Women Military Veterans who Use Community-Based Services.

BACKGROUND: Women Veterans who use the Veterans Health Administration (VA) have high rates of substance abuse and poorer health than non-Veteran women. Less is known about the psychosocial needs of women Veterans who seek care in non-VA settings. OBJECTIVES: We provide a grounded description of factors that impact substance abuse, mental health, and related quality of life of women Veterans who use non-VA community-based health and social services. METHODS: Utilizing a mixed methods design, we conducted semi-structured in-person interviews with 22 women Veterans in Los Angeles in 2013-2015. RESULTS: The current health of these women Veterans was shaped by substance abuse and several other factors, including: histories of trauma (in childhood, during military service) and discrimination, and associated mental health conditions; post-military socio-economic stressors; shifting social roles and adverse social support; and lost personal identity after military service. Psychosocial factors collectively underscore areas in which delivery of health and social services to women Veterans being treated in non-VA settings could be improved: (1) diffuse, implement, and sustain evidence-based gender-sensitive substance abuse treatment; (2) address traumas contributing to poor health; (3) recognize stress proliferation processes erode women's capacity to access healthcare or cope with stressors in healthy ways; (4) champion women Veterans who embody resilience and thereby can help others to form empowered personal identities of health and wellness. CONCLUSION: Findings can inform interventions and services that ameliorate vulnerability to substance abuse and other health risks among women Veterans.

How Occupationally High-Achieving Individuals With a Diagnosis of Schizophrenia Manage Their Symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: The study objective was to elucidate coping strategies utilized by individuals recovered from schizophrenia. METHODS: This qualitative study enrolled individuals with schizophrenia who had reached a level of recovery defined by their occupational status. Diagnosis of schizophrenia was confirmed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Current symptoms were objectively rated by a clinician. Surveys gathered information on demographic characteristics, occupation, salary, psychiatric history, treatment, and functioning. Audio-recorded person-centered qualitative interviews gathered accounts of coping strategies. Transcripts were summarized and coded with a hybrid deductive-inductive approach. RESULTS: Twenty individuals were interviewed, including ten men. The average age was 40 years. Sixty percent of participants were either currently in a master's-level program or had completed a master's or doctoral degree. Eight categories of coping strategies were identified: avoidance behavior, utilizing supportive others, taking medications, enacting cognitive strategies, controlling the environment, engaging spirituality, focus on well-being, and being employed or continuing their education. Some strategies were used preventively to keep symptoms from occurring; others were used to lessen the impact of symptoms. Strategies were flexibly utilized and combined depending on the context. CONCLUSIONS: Use of strategies in a preventive fashion, the effectiveness of the identified strategies, and the comfort individuals expressed with using several different strategies supported these individuals in achieving their occupational goals. The findings contribute to an overall shift in attitudes about recovery from schizophrenia and highlight the importance of learning from people with lived experience about how to support recovery.

Experience of primary care among homeless individuals with mental health conditions.

The delivery of primary care to homeless individuals with mental health conditions presents unique challenges. To inform healthcare improvement, we studied predictors of favorable primary care experience among homeless persons with mental health conditions treated at sites that varied in degree of homeless-specific service tailoring. This was a multi-site, survey-based comparison of primary care experiences at three mainstream primary care clinics of the Veterans Administration (VA), one homeless-tailored VA clinic, and one tailored non-VA healthcare program. Persons who accessed primary care service two or more times from July 2008 through June 2010 (N = 366) were randomly sampled. Predictor variables included patient and organization characteristics suggested by the patient perception model developed by Sofaer and Firminger (2005), with an emphasis on mental health. The primary care experience was assessed with the Primary Care Quality-Homeless (PCQ-H) questionnaire, a validated survey instrument. Multiple regression identified predictors of positive experiences (i.e. higher PCQ-H total score). Significant predictors of a positive experience included a site offering tailored service design, perceived choice among providers, and currently domiciled status. There was an interaction effect between site and severe psychiatric symptoms. For persons with severe psychiatric symptoms, a homeless-tailored service design was significantly associated with a more favorable primary care experience. For persons without severe psychiatric symptoms, this difference was not significant. This study supports the importance of tailored healthcare delivery designed for homeless persons' needs, with such services potentially holding special relevance for persons with mental health conditions. To improve patient experience among the homeless, organizations may want to deliver services that are tailored to homelessness and offer a choice of providers.

Implementation of evidence-based employment services in specialty mental health.

OBJECTIVE: Study a quality improvement approach for implementing evidence-based employment services at specialty mental health clinics. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Semistructured interviews with clinicians and administrators before, during, and after implementation. Qualitative field notes, structured baseline and follow-up interviews with patients, semistructured interviews with patients after implementation, and administrative data. STUDY DESIGN: Site-level controlled trial at four implementation and four control sites. Hybrid implementation-effectiveness study with mixed methods intervention evaluation design. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Site visits, in-person and telephone interviews, patient surveys, patient self-assessment. A total of 801 patients completed baseline surveys and 53 clinicians and other clinical key stakeholders completed longitudinal qualitative interviews. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: At baseline, sites varied in the availability, utilization, and quality of supported employment. Each site needed quality improvement for this service, though for differing reasons, with some needing development of the service itself and others needing increased service capacity. Improvements in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and referral behaviors were evident in mid- and postimplementation interviews, though some barriers persisted. Half of patients expressed an interest in working at baseline. Patients at implementation sites were 2.3 times more likely to receive employment services during the study year. Those who had a service visit were more likely to be employed at follow-up than those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: Studies of implementation and effectiveness require mixed methods to both enhance implementation in real time and provide context for interpretation of complex results. In this study, a quality improvement approach resulted in superior patient-level outcomes and improved clinician knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, in the context of substantial variation among sites.