Perspectives of America's Military and Veteran Caregivers: A Qualitative Exploration.

RAND researchers present findings from the qualitative arm of the research project, sharing insights from interviews with U.S. military and veteran caregivers.

America's Military and Veteran Caregivers: Hidden Heroes Emerging from the Shadows.

The authors produced new estimates of the number of adults caregiving in the United States today; investigated how those caring for wounded, ill, and injured service members and veterans compare with those caring for civilians and with non-caregivers; and share insights on the potential consequences of caregiving on caregiversapos health, their economic security, and their families' well-being. They also propose recommendations to strengthen caregiver support. The information in this study is derived from two sources.

Syndromic Surveillance 2.0: Emerging Global Surveillance Strategies for Infectious Disease Epidemics.

The U.S. Army has a long history of preventing, detecting, and treating infectious diseases.

What Prevention and Treatment of Substance Dependence Can Tell Us About Addressing Violent Extremism.

In this article, the authors examine similarities between violent extremism and substance dependence. They review evidence from psychology, neuroscience, sociology, and public health that suggests that there are similarities in violent extremism and substance dependence in terms of the underlying neural pathways, social and psychological causes, behavioral patterns, and opportunities for prevention and intervention.

Examining Inhalant Use Among Sexual Minority Adults in a National Sample: Drug-Specific Risks or Generalized Risk?

The study objective was to compare use of 12 specific inhalants among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults relative to heterosexual adults among a national sample. Data on 210,392 adults, including 15,007 LGB adults, were from the 2015 to 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. For each inhalant type, logistic regression was used to characterize differences by sexual identity and gender.

Disparities in Use/Misuse of Specific Illicit and Prescription Drugs among Sexual Minority Adults in a National Sample.

Compared to heterosexual adults, lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adults have higher rates of illicit drug use and prescription drug misuse, yet disparities regarding specific drugs remain poorly characterized. We examined disparities by sexual identity and sex for 8 illicit and prescription drugs using 2015-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data. Outcomes included past-year use/misuse of cocaine/crack, hallucinogens, inhalants, methamphetamine, heroin, prescription opioids, prescription stimulants, prescription tranquilizers/sedatives, and level of polydrug use/misuse (2 substances; 3+ substances).

Co-occurring alcohol and mental health problems in the military: Prevalence, disparities, and service utilization.

Objective: To examine the prevalence of co-occurring alcohol and mental health (MH) problems (COPs), perceived MH service need, and MH service utilization among active duty service members, and to identify differences in gender, race/ethnicity, age, and sexual orientation and gender identity.

Method: 16,699 active duty service members participated in the Department of Defense's 2015 Health Related Behaviors Survey. Measures included demographics, combat deployment, smoking status, problematic alcohol use (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-C, AUDIT-C), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD Checklist, Civilian Version, PCL-C), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, PHQ-9), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, GAD-7), and perceived need for and use of MH services.

Editorial: Research Will Help Prepare America for the Rollout of Its New Crisis Hotline.

In Mathieu and colleagues' recent systematic review, the authors present important research insights about young people who call hotlines, why they call them, the types of services that callers receive, and the quality of this care. Albeit important on its own, it is particularly timely for American practitioners and policymakers. In December 2020, US President Donald J.

Identifying optimal level-of-care placement decisions for adolescent substance use treatment.

Background: Adolescents respond differentially to substance use treatment based on their individual needs and goals. Providers may benefit from guidance (via decision rules) for personalizing aspects of treatment, such as level-of-care (LOC) placements, like choosing between outpatient or inpatient care. The field lacks an empirically-supported foundation to inform the development of an adaptive LOC-placement protocol.

Persistent Risk-Related Worry as a Function of Recalled Exposure to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Prior Trauma.

Large oil spills are disasters associated with psychological effects for exposed communities. The amount of worry that individuals experience after a disaster may be influenced by many factors, such as the type and extent of exposure to disaster impacts, prior trauma, and sociodemographic characteristics. This study examined the nature and predictors of worry about ongoing impacts of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DH) oil spill reported by Gulf of Mexico coastal residents.

Reaching vulnerable populations in the disaster-prone US Gulf Coast: Communicating across the crisis lifecycle.

Delivering risk and crisis communication to US Gulf Coast residents poses a unique challenge to individual and organizational responders. The region has endured several natural and man-made disasters, spanning Hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and more recently Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. In the future, the US Gulf Coast is expected to remain susceptible to a range of disasters.

Reaching vulnerable populations in the disaster-prone US Gulf Coast: Communicating across the crisis lifecycle.

Delivering risk and crisis communication to US Gulf Coast residents poses a unique challenge to individual and organizational responders. The region has endured several natural and man-made disasters, spanning Hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and more recently Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. In the future, the US Gulf Coast is expected to remain susceptible to a range of disasters.