Implementation of Mobile Medical Units for Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Objectives: Mobile medical units (MMUs) provide health care services in the community to reach populations with geographic, financial, and other barriers to care. The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team (HPACT) program deployed MMUs to 25 sites in fiscal year 2024 to increase access for veterans experiencing homelessness. We examined early implementation of MMUs in HPACT sites by describing implementation and operational issues, services provided, and characteristics of veterans who used MMUs.

Implementation Factors Influencing Peer-Delivered Behavioral Evidence-Based Interventions for Substance Use Disorders: A Scoping Review.

Peer recovery specialists (PRS) are increasingly recognized as key members of the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment workforce. Recent efforts have focused on expanding PRS roles to include the delivery of behavioral evidence-based interventions (EBIs), such as motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques, and brief interventions. This scoping review aims to identify the determinants that influence the implementation of PRS-delivered behavioral EBIs and the strategies used to optimize their delivery within diverse SUD treatment contexts.

Intervention for Justice-Involved Homeless Veterans With Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Trial.

Background: The US Veterans Affairs mental health residential rehabilitation treatment programs (MH RRTPs) provide residential care for veterans experiencing homelessness. However, those with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders and criminal legal involvement require additional interventions to address risk factors for recidivism.

Objective: We aimed to (1.

Multimorbidity Profiles and Cause-Specific Mortality Among Older Adults with Schizophrenia.

Objective: To characterize multimorbidity patterns among mid- to late-life adults with schizophrenia and evaluate the relationship between multimorbidity patterns and cause-specific mortality.

Methods: This study utilized a national, longitudinal, cohort of U.S.

Assessing the impact of combat trauma on the severity, expression, and course of posttraumatic stress disorder in justice-involved veterans.

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with criminal justice involvement in veterans, but it is unclear how trauma type influences this relationship. The present study examines the impact of combat trauma on the severity and course of PTSD and the relationship with criminogenic needs in justice-involved veterans.

Method: We conducted secondary analysis of data from 287 veterans with a criminal history admitted to mental health residential treatment.

Change processes associated with functional improvement in a web-based version of Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (webSTAIR) for trauma-exposed veterans.

Objective: In spite of the evidence that both symptom reduction and functional improvement are important for supporting recovery from trauma, psychotherapy process research has largely focused on mechanisms of symptom reduction. A better understanding of how change occurs in treatments that emphasize functional improvement rather than trauma processing is critical for optimizing effective, patient-centered care.

Method: This study involved secondary analysis of data collected in three multisite trials of a 10-module web-based version of Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation, a skills-focused transdiagnostic intervention.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Pay-for-Performance Initiative to Reduce Costs of Care for High-Need Psychiatric Patients.

Objective: Pay-for-performance (P4P) initiatives hold promise for improving health care delivery but are rarely applied to behavioral health or tested in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). This RCT examined the effectiveness of a P4P initiative to reduce total cost of 24-hour care among patients with high needs for psychiatric care in a large county in California.

Methods: From August 2016 to March 2022, a total of 652 adult residents of Santa Clara County, California, were enrolled in a P4P initiative (mean±SD age=46.

Virtual reality mindfulness training for veterans in residential substance use treatment: Pilot study of feasibility and acceptability.

Background: Mindfulness training is effective in recovery from substance use disorders; however, adoption can be difficult due to environmental and personal distractions. Virtual reality (VR) may help overcome these challenges by providing an immersive environment for practicing mindfulness, but there is currently limited knowledge regarding patient and provider perceptions of VR-based tools.

Objective: The present study investigated the feasibility and acceptability of VR mindfulness training for veterans in residential substance use treatment as well as potential benefits of VR mindfulness interventions in this population.

For whom are treatments for criminal recidivism effective? Moderator effects from a randomized controlled trial of justice-involved veterans.

Objective: In a recent trial, moral reconation therapy (MRT)-a cognitive-behavioral intervention for criminal recidivism-was not more effective than usual care (UC) for veterans in behavioral health treatment. To determine for whom treatments of recidivism are most effective, we tested if recency of criminal history or psychopathic traits moderated MRT's effects on outcomes.

Method: In a multisite trial, 341 veterans (95.

Criminogenic Needs and Legal Problem Severity Among Legal System Involved Veterans.

Background: Many veterans seeking behavioral health services have history of criminal-legal involvement. Research on criminogenic needs of legal system involved veterans is burgeoning. However, most research has relied on cross-sectional examinations and the vast majority of prior work has focused assessment on just one criminogenic need per study.

Disentangling the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder, criminogenic risk, and criminal history among veterans.

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is positively associated with involvement in the criminal justice system among veterans. Research that examines whether this association is confounded by risk factors ("criminogenic needs") from the risk-need-responsivity model of correctional rehabilitation can inform risk management with this population.

Hypotheses: We hypothesized that (a) veterans with probable PTSD would score higher on all criminogenic needs than veterans without PTSD and (b) probable PTSD would be associated with criminal history but not after accounting for criminogenic needs.

Patterns and predictors of mental health service use among older veterans with alcohol use disorder who received a video-enabled tablet.

Video-based telehealth may expand access to mental health services among older veterans with alcohol use disorder (AUD). We examined the modalities through which mental health services were rendered, and predictors of video visits before and after video-enabled tablet receipt from the Veterans Health Administration. 11,210 veterans aged 60 or older with a diagnosis of AUD who received a tablet between 1 April 2020 and 25 October 2021 were identified.

A Research Agenda for Criminal Justice Involvement Among U.S. Veterans.

Introduction: A substantial proportion of adults in the U.S. criminal justice system are military veterans.

Stand Down-Think Before You Drink: protocol for an effectiveness-implementation trial of a mobile application for unhealthy alcohol use with and without peer support.

Introduction: Mobile apps can increase access to alcohol-related care but only if patients actively engage with them. Peers have shown promise for facilitating patients' engagement with mobile apps. However, the effectiveness of peer-based mobile health interventions for unhealthy alcohol use has yet to be evaluated in a randomised controlled trial.

Peer-supported mobile mental health for veterans in primary care: A pilot study.

One in four veteran primary care patients suffers from a mental health condition; however, most do not receive any treatment for these problems. Mobile health (mHealth) can overcome barriers to care access, but poor patient engagement limits the effectiveness and implementation of these tools. Peers may facilitate patient engagement with mHealth.

A randomized controlled trial of moral reconation therapy to reduce risk for criminal recidivism among justice-involved adults in mental health residential treatment.

Objective: Moral reconation therapy (MRT) is a cognitive-behavioral intervention to reduce risk for criminal recidivism. Despite being implemented widely in correctional settings, there are no randomized controlled trials of MRT, and its effectiveness for reducing recidivism among justice-involved adults in noncorrectional settings is unknown.

Method: In a pragmatic trial, 341 justice-involved patients (95.

Implementation Potential of Moral Reconation Therapy for Criminal Recidivism in Mental Health Residential Programs.

Objective: Criminal recidivism is common among patients in mental health residential treatment programs. Moral reconation therapy (MRT) has empirical support for reducing criminal recidivism by modifying antisocial cognitions and behaviors; however, its implementation potential in noncorrectional settings has been rarely studied. This potential was examined in a three-site effectiveness-implementation trial of MRT for justice-involved veterans receiving residential mental health treatment in the U.

Mobile Mental Health Apps from the National Center for PTSD: Digital Self-Management Tools for Co-Occurring Disorders.

Mobile mental health apps can help bridge gaps in access to care for those with substance use disorders and dual diagnoses. The authors describe a portfolio of free, publicly available mobile mental health apps developed by the National Center for PTSD. The authors also demonstrate how this suite of primarily non-substance use disorder-specific mobile mental health apps may support the active ingredients of substance use disorder treatment or be used for self-management of substance use disorder and related issues.

Trauma-related differences in socio-emotional functioning predict housing and employment outcomes in homeless veterans.

Rationale: Mental health and substance use disorders are strong risk factors for homelessness. Understanding the role of transdiagnostic factors could help inform efforts to reduce homelessness among veterans with a range of disorders. Homeless veterans have high rates of trauma exposure, which can result in the depletion of social and emotional resources that may contribute to housing and employment stability.

Relevance of psychopathic traits to therapeutic processes and outcomes for veterans with substance use disorders.

Psychopathic traits have been routinely associated with poor treatment outcomes in correctional settings. Less is known about how psychopathic traits relate to treatment processes (e.g.

Recidivism Treatment for Justice-Involved Veterans: Evaluating Adoption and Sustainment of Moral Reconation Therapy in the US Veterans Health Administration.

Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT), an evidence-based intervention to reduce risk for criminal recidivism among justice-involved adults, was developed and primarily tested in correctional settings. Therefore, a better understanding of the implementation potential of MRT within non-correctional settings is needed. To address this gap in the literature, we evaluated the adoption and sustainment of MRT in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) following a national training initiative in fiscal years 2016 and 2017.

Personality change during substance use disorder treatment is associated with improvements in abstinence self-efficacy post-treatment among U.S. military veterans.

Prior research suggests that personality traits change during substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. However, the extent to which changes in traits during SUD treatment are associated with subsequent improvements in treatment outcomes remains untested. Among U.