Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33794812›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2021

Three case studies of community behavioral health support from the US Department of Veterans Affairs after disasters.

Tamar Wyte-Lake, Susan Schmitz, Reginald J Kornegay, Felix Acevedo, Aram Dobalian

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 33% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. VHA Support for Home Health Agency Staff and Patients During Natural Disasters.Federal practitioner : for the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS · 2024
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Tamar Wyte-LakeDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC), 16111 Plummer St. MS-152, North Hills, CA, 91343, USA. tamar.wyte@va.gov.ORCID 0000-0001-8449-7701
Susan SchmitzDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC), 16111 Plummer St. MS-152, North Hills, CA, 91343, USA.
Reginald J KornegayOrlando VA Medical Center, 13800 Veterans Way, Orlando, FL, 32728, USA.
Felix AcevedoVA Southern Nevada Healthcare System, 6900 N. Pecos Road, North Las Vegas, NV, 89086, USA.
Aram DobalianDepartment of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC), 16111 Plummer St. MS-152, North Hills, CA, 91343, USA.
Oregon Health & Science University · USOrlando VA Medical Center · USUniversity of Memphis · USVA Southern Nevada Healthcare System · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCommunity disaster resilience is comprised of a multitude of factors, including the capacity of citizens to psychologically recover. There is growing recognition of the need for public health departments to prioritize a communitywide mental health response strategy to facilitate access to behavioral health services and reduce potential psychological impacts. Due to the US Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) extensive experience providing trauma-informed behavioral healthcare to its Veterans, and the fact that VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) are located throughout the United States, the VA is well situated to be a key partner in local communities' response plans. In this study we examined the role the VA can play in a community's behavioral health response using case studies from three disasters.

methodsThis study investigated experiences of VA employees in critical emergency response positions (N = 17) in communities where disasters occurred between 2017 and 2019. All respondents were interviewed March-July 2019. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews exploring participants' experiences and knowledge about VA activities provided to communities following the regional disasters. Data were analyzed using thematic and grounded theory coding methods.

resultsRespondents underscored VA's primary mission after a disaster was to maintain continuity of care to Veterans. The majority also described the VA supporting community recovery. Specifically, three recent events provided key examples of VA's involvement in disaster behavioral health response. Each event showed VA's integration into local response structures was facilitated by pre-existing emergency management and clinical relationships as well as prioritization from VA leadership to engage in humanitarian missions. The behavioral health interventions were provided by behavioral health teams integrated into disaster assistance centers and non-VA hospitals, VA mobile units deployed into the community, and VA telehealth services.

conclusionsRecent disasters have revealed that coordinated efforts between multidisciplinary agencies can strengthen communities' capacity to respond to mental health needs, thereby fostering resilience. Building relationships with local VAMCs can help expedite how VA can be incorporated into emergency management strategies. In considering the strengths community partners can bring to bear, a coordinated disaster mental health response would benefit from involving VA as a partner during planning.

Indexed as

Disaster PlanningDisastersVeteransHumansPublic HealthUnited StatesUnited States Department of Veterans AffairsBehavioral health; disaster responseEmergency preparednessUS Department of Veterans Affairs

Identifiers

PMID33794812
PMCPMC8015747
OpenAlexW3151522554

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.