Spreading a Strategy to Prevent Suicide After Psychiatric Hospitalization: Results of a Quality Improvement Spread Initiative.

BACKGROUND: Suicide after psychiatric hospitalization is a major concern. Poor treatment engagement may contribute to risk. The World Health Organization Brief Intervention and Contact (BIC) Program is an evidence-based practice shown to prevent suicide after psychiatric discharge in international trials. There have been no efforts to implement BIC into routine practice in US populations. METHODS: The authors conducted a 12-month quality improvement (QI) collaborative at six US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers serving a large rural population. Sites had low to moderate performance on a VA quality measure of mental health postdischarge care; a measure assessing the proportion of discharged patients who achieve the required number of visits ≤ 30 days. Sites received programmatic support to implement BIC locally. Implementation was assessed using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. RESULTS: Overall, teams had high participation in programmatic activities and enrolled 85% of eligible patients that they approached. Among 70 enrolled patients, 81.4% achieved the VA quality measure of mental health postdischarge care, suggesting good treatment engagement. On average, patients rated BIC as excellent. Team members agreed that BIC was easy to use, implementable, possible, and doable. Factors facilitating implementation included standardized operating procedures to standardize processes. Barriers included insufficient staffing and loss to follow-up. Most sites plan to continue to enroll patients and to expand BIC to other areas. CONCLUSION: A QI collaborative can facilitate implementation of BIC in six VA facilities that provide inpatient psychiatric treatment. BIC may appeal to patients and providers and may improve treatment engagement.

Cognitive-behavioral conjoint therapy for PTSD: pilot results from a community sample.

Seven couples participated in an uncontrolled trial of cognitive-behavioral conjoint therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Among the 6 couples who completed treatment, 5 of the patients no longer met criteria for PTSD and there were across-treatment effect size improvements in patients' total PTSD symptoms according to independent clinician assessment, patient report, and partner report (d = 1.32-1.69). Three of the 4 couples relationally distressed at pretreatment were satisfied at posttreatment. Partners reported statistically significant and large effect size improvements in relationship satisfaction; patients reported nonsignificant moderate to large improvements in relationship satisfaction. Patients also reported nonsignificant, but large effect size improvements in depression and state anger symptoms. Future directions for research and treatment of traumatized individuals and close others are offered.

Longitudinal Examination of COVID-19 Public Health Measures on Mental Health for Rural Patients With Serious Mental Illness.

INTRODUCTION: There is emerging evidence to support that the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures may be associated with negative mental health sequelae. Rural populations in particular may fair worse because they share many unique characteristics that may put them at higher risk for adverse outcomes with the pandemic. Yet, rural populations may also be more resilient due to increased sense of community. Little is known about the impact of the pandemic on the mental health and well-being of a rural population pre- and post-pandemic, especially those with serious mental illness. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal, mixed-methods study with assessments preceding the pandemic (between October 2019 and March 2020) and during the stay-at-home orders (between April 23, 2020, and May 4, 2020). Changes in hopelessness, suicidal ideation, connectedness, and treatment engagement were assessed using a repeated-measures ANOVA or Friedman test. RESULTS: Among 17 eligible participants, 11 people were interviewed. Overall, there were no notable changes in any symptom scale in the first 3-5 months before the pandemic or during the stay-at-home orders. The few patients who reported worse symptoms were significantly older (mean age: 71.7 years, SD: 4.0). Most patients denied disruptions to treatment, and some perceived telepsychiatry as beneficial. CONCLUSIONS: Rural patients with serious mental illness may be fairly resilient in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic when they have access to treatment and supports. Longer-term outcomes are needed in rural patients with serious mental illness to better understand the impact of the pandemic on this population.

A Pilot Randomized Trial of a Brief Intervention to Prevent Suicide After Inpatient Psychiatric Discharge.

OBJECTIVE: Risk for suicide is high after psychiatric hospitalization. The World Health Organization's Brief Intervention and Contact (BIC) program has shown efficacy in preventing suicide. A version adapted for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was studied to determine preliminary effects. METHODS: Patients receiving psychiatric hospitalization because of acute risk for self-harm were randomly assigned to the VA BIC or standard care alone. Effect sizes (Hedges' g) for suicidal ideation (primary outcome), social connectedness (measured as thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness), hopelessness, and engagement were calculated at 1 and 3 months. RESULTS: Patients were randomly assigned to the VA BIC (N=10) or standard care (N=9). The VA BIC had a medium or large effect on most measures at 1 month (suicidal ideation, g=0.45). Effects diminished at 3 months, except for thwarted belongingness (g=0.81). CONCLUSIONS: The VA BIC had meaningful effects on suicide-related outcomes. The largest effect was seen in the first month.

Cognitive processing therapy for veterans with military-related posttraumatic stress disorder.

Sixty veterans (54 men, 6 women) with chronic military-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) participated in a wait-list controlled trial of cognitive processing therapy (CPT). The overall dropout rate was 16.6% (20% from CPT, 13% from waiting list). Random regression analyses of the intention-to-treat sample revealed significant improvements in PTSD and comorbid symptoms in the CPT condition compared with the wait-list condition. Forty percent of the intention-to-treat sample receiving CPT did not meet criteria for a PTSD diagnosis, and 50% had a reliable change in their PTSD symptoms at posttreatment assessment. There was no relationship between PTSD disability status and outcomes. This trial provides some of the most encouraging results of PTSD treatment for veterans with chronic PTSD and supports increased use of cognitive- behavioral treatments in this population.

Community resilience as a metaphor, theory, set of capacities, and strategy for disaster readiness.

Communities have the potential to function effectively and adapt successfully in the aftermath of disasters. Drawing upon literatures in several disciplines, we present a theory of resilience that encompasses contemporary understandings of stress, adaptation, wellness, and resource dynamics. Community resilience is a process linking a network of adaptive capacities (resources with dynamic attributes) to adaptation after a disturbance or adversity. Community adaptation is manifest in population wellness, defined as high and non-disparate levels of mental and behavioral health, functioning, and quality of life. Community resilience emerges from four primary sets of adaptive capacities--Economic Development, Social Capital, Information and Communication, and Community Competence--that together provide a strategy for disaster readiness. To build collective resilience, communities must reduce risk and resource inequities, engage local people in mitigation, create organizational linkages, boost and protect social supports, and plan for not having a plan, which requires flexibility, decision-making skills, and trusted sources of information that function in the face of unknowns.

Cognitive-Behavioral Couple's Treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder: initial findings.

This pilot study was an initial investigation of Cognitive-Behavioral Couple's Treatment (CBCT) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Seven couples in which the husband was diagnosed with PTSD secondary to Vietnam combat experiences completed the treatment. According to independent clinician assessment and partner report, the veterans had substantial improvements in their PTSD symptoms. The veterans reported less dramatic improvements in their PTSD symptoms, but endorsed significant improvements in their depression and anxiety. The partners reported improved relationship satisfaction, whereas the veterans' relationship satisfaction was unchanged across treatment. The current findings are compared with findings on other forms of empirically validated treatment for PTSD and previous studies of CBCT for various individual problems. Theoretical implications and future directions are offered.