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Staff and Veteran Perspectives on Residential Treatment Programs' Responses to COVID-19: A Qualitative Study Guided by the WHO's After Action Review Framework.

Kim B, Petrakis BA, Sliwinski SK, McInnes DK, Gifford AL, Smelson DA. Staff and Veteran Perspectives on Residential Treatment Programs' Responses to COVID-19: A Qualitative Study Guided by the WHO's After Action Review Framework. Community mental health journal. 2023 Apr 1; 59(3):600-608.

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Abstract:

Healthcare must rapidly and systematically learn from earlier COVID-19 responses to prepare for future crises. This is critical for VA''s Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Programs (RRTPs), offering 24/7 care to Veterans for behavioral health and/or homelessness. We adapted the World Health Organization''s After Action Review (AAR) to conduct semi-structured small-group discussions with staff from two RRTPs and Veterans who received RRTP care during COVID-19, to examine COVID-19''s impact on these programs. Six thematic categories emerged through qualitative analysis (participant-checked and contextualized with additional input from program leadership), representing participants'' recommendations including: Keep RRTPs open (especially when alternative programs are inaccessible), convey reasons for COVID-19 precautions and programming changes to Veterans, separate recovery-oriented programming from COVID-19-related information-sharing, ensure Wi-Fi availability for telehealth and communication, provide technology training during orientation, and establish safe procedures for off-site appointments. AAR is easily applicable for organizations to debrief and learn from past experiences.




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