scholarly journals Lessons Learned from Mental Health Enhancement and Suicide Prevention Activities in the Veterans Health Administration

2012 ◽  
Vol 102 (S1) ◽  
pp. S14-S16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ira Katz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Veterans Health Administration ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Veterans Health ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Prevention Activities

Retrospective analysis of reported suicide deaths and attempts on veterans health administration campuses and inpatient units

2020 ◽  
pp. bmjqs-2020-011312
Author(s):  
Peter D Mills ◽  
Christina Soncrant ◽  
William Gunnar
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Veterans Health Administration ◽  
Outpatient Clinics ◽  
Veterans Health ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Residential Units ◽  
Anchor Points ◽  
Suicidal Patients ◽  
Inpatient Units

IntroductionSuicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the USA. Inpatient suicide is the fourth most common sentinel event reported to the Joint Commission. This study reviewed root cause analysis (RCA) reports of suicide events by hospital unit to provide suicide prevention recommendations for each area.MethodsThis is a retrospective analysis of reported suicide deaths and attempts in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals. We searched the VHA National Center for Patient Safety RCA database for suicide deaths and attempts on inpatient units, outpatient clinics and hospital grounds, between December 1999 and December 2018.ResultsWe found 847 RCA reports of suicide attempts (n=758) and deaths (n=89) in VHA hospitals, hanging accounted for 71% of deaths on mental health units and 50% of deaths on medical units. Overdose accounted for 55% of deaths and 68% of attempts in residential units and the only method resulting in death in emergency departments. In VHA community living centres, hanging, overdose and asphyxiation accounted for 64% of deaths. Gunshot accounted for 59% of deaths on hospital grounds and 100% of deaths in clinic areas. All inpatient locations cited issues in assessment and treatment of suicidal patients and environmental risk evaluation.ConclusionsInpatient mental health and medical units should remove anchor points for hanging where possible. On residential units and emergency departments, assessing suicide risk, conducting thorough contraband searches and maintaining observation of suicidal patients is critical. In community living centres, suicidal patients should be under supervision in an environment free of anchor points, medications and means of asphyxiation. Suicide prevention on hospital grounds and outpatient clinics can be achieved through the control of firearms.

Suicide risk following a new cancer diagnosis among veterans in Veterans Health Administration care.

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 12130-12130
Author(s):  
Kallisse R. Dent ◽  
Benjamin R. Szymanski ◽  
Michael J. Kelley ◽  
Ira Katz ◽  
John F. McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Lung Cancer ◽  
Head And Neck ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Cancer Diagnosis ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Veterans Health Administration ◽  
Veterans Health ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Suicide Rates

12130 Background: Patients diagnosed with cancer are at an increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes including suicidal behavior. Suicide rates among Veterans are 50 percent greater than for non-Veteran US adults. To inform Veterans Affairs (VA) suicide prevention initiatives, it is important to understand associations between cancer and suicide risk among Veterans receiving VA healthcare from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Study aims were to assess associations between new cancer diagnoses and suicide among Veterans in VHA care to identify high risk diagnostic subgroups and risk-periods. Methods: We used a cohort study design, identifying 4,926,373 Veterans with VHA use in 2011 and either 2012 or 2013 and without a VHA cancer diagnosis in 2011. Incident cancer diagnoses, assessed between first VHA use in 2012-2013 and 12/31/2018, were characterized by subtype and stage using the VHA Oncology Raw Data. Data from the VA/Department of Defense Mortality Data Repository identified date and cause of death. Cox proportional hazards regression, accounting for time-varying cancer diagnosis, was used to evaluate associations between a new cancer diagnosis and suicide risk. An initial model adjusted for VHA regional network and patient age and sex. Cancer subtypes with significant associations with suicide were further assessed using a model that also adjusted for suicide attempts and mental health, tobacco use disorder, and other substance use disorder diagnoses in the prior year. Crude suicide rates following a new cancer diagnoses were calculated among Veterans with new diagnoses, 2012-2018 (N = 240,410). Rates were assessed up to 84 months following diagnosis. Results: On average, Veteran VHA users were followed for 6.0 years after their first VHA use in 2012-2013 and for 2.7 years following a new cancer diagnosis. Receipt of a new cancer diagnosis corresponded to a 43% (Adjusted Hazard Ratio [AHR] = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.29, 1.58) higher suicide risk, adjusting for covariates. The cancer subtype associated with the highest suicide risk was esophageal cancer (AHR = 5.93, 95% CI: 4.05, 10.51) and other significant subtypes included head and neck (AHR = 3.44, 95% CI: 2.65, 4.46) and lung cancer (AHR = 2.28, 95% CI: 1.79, 2.90). Cancer stages 3 (AHR = 2.29, 95% CI: 1.75, 3.01) and 4 (AHR = 3.45, 95% CI: 2.75, 4.34) at diagnosis were also positively associated with suicide risk. Suicide rates were highest in the first three months following a diagnosis (Rate = 128.3 per 100,000 person-years, 95% CI: 100.4, 161.6) and remained elevated through the first 12 months. Conclusions: Among Veteran VHA users, suicide risk was elevated following a new cancer diagnosis and was especially high in the initial 3 months. Additional screening and suicide prevention efforts may be warranted for VHA Veterans newly diagnosed with cancer, particularly among those diagnosed with esophageal, head and neck, or lung cancer or at stages 3 or 4.

Mental health productivity monitoring in the Veterans Health Administration: Challenges and lessons learned.

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 486-495
Author(s):  
Lisa K. Kearney ◽  
Clifford Smith ◽  
Daniel R. Kivlahan ◽  
Robert C. Gresen ◽  
Eileen Moran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Veterans Health Administration ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Veterans Health ◽  
Health Administration

Veterans Health Administration Mental Health Program Evaluation Technical Manual

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcela Horovitz-Lennon ◽  
Katherine E. Watkins ◽  
Harold Alan Pincus ◽  
Lisa R. Shugarman ◽  
Brad Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Program Evaluation ◽  
Health Program ◽  
Mental Health Program ◽  
Veterans Health Administration ◽  
Veterans Health ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Technical Manual

scholarly journals Predictors of Veterans Health Administration utilization and pain persistence among soldiers treated for postdeployment chronic pain in the Military Health System

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Sayko Adams ◽  
Esther L. Meerwijk ◽  
Mary Jo Larson ◽  
Alex H. S. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Veterans Health Administration ◽  
First Year ◽  
Veterans Health ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Military Health System ◽  
Military Health ◽  
The Military

Abstract Background Chronic pain presents a significant burden for both federal health care systems designed to serve combat Veterans in the United States (i.e., the Military Health System [MHS] and Veterans Health Administration [VHA]), yet there have been few studies of Veterans with chronic pain that have integrated data from both systems of care. This study examined 1) health care utilization in VHA as an enrollee (i.e., linkage to VHA) after military separation among soldiers with postdeployment chronic pain identified in the MHS, and predictors of linkage, and 2) persistence of chronic pain among those utilizing the VHA. Methods Observational, longitudinal study of soldiers returning from a deployment in support of the Afghanistan/Iraq conflicts in fiscal years 2008–2014. The analytic sample included 138,206 active duty soldiers for whom linkage to VHA was determined through FY2019. A Cox proportional hazards model was estimated to examine the effects of demographic characteristics, military history, and MHS clinical characteristics on time to linkage to VHA after separation from the military. Among the subpopulation of soldiers who linked to VHA, we described whether they met criteria for chronic pain in the VHA and pain management treatments received during the first year in VHA. Results The majority (79%) of soldiers within the chronic pain cohort linked to VHA after military separation. Significant predictors of VHA linkage included: VHA utilization as a non-enrollee prior to military separation, separating for disability, mental health comorbidities, and being non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic. Soldiers that separated because of misconduct were less likely to link than other soldiers. Soldiers who received nonpharmacological treatments, opioids/tramadol, or mental health treatment in the MHS linked earlier to VHA than soldiers who did not receive these treatments. Among those who enrolled in VHA, during the first year after linking to the VHA, 49.7% of soldiers met criteria for persistent chronic pain in VHA. Conclusions The vast majority of soldiers identified with chronic pain in the MHS utilized care within VHA after military separation. Careful coordination of pain management approaches across the MHS and VHA is required to optimize care for soldiers with chronic pain.

Association between acute psychiatric bed availability in the Veterans Health Administration and veteran suicide risk: a retrospective cohort study

2021 ◽  
pp. bmjqs-2020-012975
Author(s):  
Peter J Kaboli ◽  
Matthew R Augustine ◽  
Bjarni Haraldsson ◽  
Nicholas M Mohr ◽  
M Bryant Howren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort Study ◽  
Retrospective Cohort ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Veterans Health Administration ◽  
Veterans Health ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Bed Occupancy ◽  
Increased Risk

BackgroundVeteran suicides have increased despite mental health investments by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).ObjectiveTo examine relationships between suicide and acute inpatient psychiatric bed occupancy and other community, hospital and patient factors.MethodsRetrospective cohort study using administrative and publicly available data for contextual community factors. The study sample included all veterans enrolled in VHA primary care in 2011–2016 associated with 111 VHA hospitals with acute inpatient psychiatric units. Acute psychiatric bed occupancy, as a measure of access to care, was the main exposure of interest and was categorised by quarter as per cent occupied using thresholds of ≤85%, 85.1%–90%, 90.1%–95% and >95%. Hospital-level analyses were conducted using generalised linear mixed models with random intercepts for hospital, modelling number of suicides by quarter with a negative binomial distribution.ResultsFrom 2011 to 2016, the national incidence of suicide among enrolled veterans increased from 39.7 to 41.6 per 100 000 person-years. VHA psychiatric bed occupancy decreased from a mean of 68.2% (IQR 56.5%–82.2%) to 65.4% (IQR 53.9%–79.9%). VHA hospitals with the highest occupancy (>95%) in a quarter compared with ≤85% had an adjusted incident rate ratio (IRR) for suicide of 1.10 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.19); no increased risk was observed for 85.1%–90% (IRR 0.96; 95% CI 0.89 to 1.03) or 90.1%–95% (IRR 0.96; 95% CI 0.89 to 1.04) compared with ≤85% occupancy. Of hospital and community variables, suicide risk was not associated with number of VHA or non-VHA psychiatric beds or amount spent on community mental health. Suicide risk increased by age categories, seasons, geographic regions and over time.ConclusionsHigh VHA hospital occupancy (>95%) was associated with a 10% increased suicide risk for veterans whereas absolute number of beds was not, suggesting occupancy is an important access measure. Future work should clarify optimal bed occupancy to meet acute psychiatric needs and ensure adequate bed distribution.

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