# Development of a Patient Centered Mental Health Intervention for Recent Veterans

> **NIH VA IK2** · BALTIMORE VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · —

## Abstract

Anticipated Impacts on Veteran Healthcare: Recent Veterans of the OIF/OEF/OND conflicts are presenting in
VA care with high rates of stress related mental health disorders (posttraumatic stress disorder, depression,
anxiety, and alcohol abuse), reporting significant difficulties with social relationships and community
reintegration, and dropping out of VA mental health care at unacceptably high rates. Surveys of recent
Veterans show that Veterans want the VA to provide mental health care tailored to their concerns and
reintegration priorities while simultaneously the VA has committed to providing personalized, proactive, patient
centered care. However, little research or intervention development has been done on patient centered care in
specialty mental health care settings. This work will result in the development of a brief Veteran-targeted
intervention which will educate Veterans on being engaged partners in the VA's new patient centered care
model and assist them in tailoring their care to best achieve functional rehabilitation from stress related mental
health disorders.
Project Background: The term “recent Veterans” refers to Veterans who served in the military operations
Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn. Almost 60% of recent
Veterans who received VA care have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, most commonly post-
traumatic stress disorder (32%), depressive disorders (26%), anxiety disorders (25%), and substance abuse
(13%). The research literature consistently confirms that recent Veterans with stress-related mental health
disorders experience impairment in functional domains of health (overcoming and managing disease), purpose
(meaningful daily activities and participation in society), and community (positive relationships and social
networks).
Project Objectives: The proposed research will characterize patient centered care in VA mental health care
and produce a brief patient centered intervention that will empower Veterans to lead and personalize their
mental health care in support of their functional recovery. In Aim 1 of this research we will characterize rates of
providers' and recent Veterans' (n=30) participation in the four components of PCC, as well as barriers and
facilitators of each PCC component, to inform development of a brief patient centered mental health
intervention in Aim 2. In Aim 2 we will develop a brief patient centered mental health intervention for recent
Veterans experiencing stress-related mental health disorders and conduct a pre-pilot demonstration (n=10) to
assess acceptability. This intervention will be informed by data collected in Aim 1 and developed using an
iterative process of discussion with and input from recent Veterans, VA mental health providers, peer
specialists, and researchers. Finally in Aim 3 we will test the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the brief
intervention by conducting a randomized controlled trial with 48 recent Veterans w...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9950859
- **Project number:** 5IK2RX002159-04
- **Recipient organization:** BALTIMORE VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Samantha Hack
- **Activity code:** IK2 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-06-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9950859

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9950859, Development of a Patient Centered Mental Health Intervention for Recent Veterans (5IK2RX002159-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9950859. Licensed CC0.

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