Research Topics
Mental Health
Mental health is a broad term used to describe a variety of mental, emotional, or behavioral conditions. Mental health conditions can include anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorders, personality disorders, and the more serious psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The impact of mental health conditions is significant—according to the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness (51.5 million in 2019).
VA health systems researchers conduct a wide variety of investigations into mental health conditions, including access to mental and behavioral health services, post-deployment well-being, specific treatment efficacy, and more.
Each section below is populated by a search of the HSR website. Search results are generated based on the search term "Mental Health". Results are updated as new data are available.
VIEW: Citations | Publication Briefs | Studies | HSR Briefs, Reports, Newsletters | Cyberseminars | Videos | Podcasts | Other Resources
Citations
(5 of more than 1772 MENTAL HEALTH focused publications)
- Chen, Niederhausen, Bui, Govier, Rowneki, Hickok, Shahoumian, Shepherd-Banigan, Korpak, Hawkins, Teo, Naylor, Osborne, Smith, Bowling, Boyko, Ioannou, Maciejewski, O''Hare, Viglianti, Iwashyna, Bohnert, Hynes, VA HSR&D COVID‐19 Observational Research Collaboratory (CORC). Veteran Mental Health Emergency Care Utilization Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Health services research. 2025 Jun 5; e14622, DOI: 10.1111/1475-6773.14622.
- Connolly SL, Raciborski RA, Abdulkerim H, Sullivan JL, Heyworth LK, Weaver KR, Eisele LC, Shimada SL, Lindsay JA, Hogan TP, Miller CJ. Site-Level Differences in the Provision of Telemental Health Care Within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Health services research. 2025 May 15; e14639, DOI: 10.1111/1475-6773.14639.
- Caloudas AB, Williams JB, Day G, Singh RS, Shapiro M, McCorkindale A, Menefee D, Lindsay JA, Boykin D. Engaging Rural Women Veterans in Mental Health Research: A Call to Action. Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. 2025 May 5 DOI: 10.1016/j.whi.2025.03.004.
- Kuhn, Sayers, Zimmerman, Mackintosh, Owen, Rosen, Meis, Hagedorn, Erbes. Promoting mental health treatment initiation of veterans with PTSD using internet-based family training and telephone coaching: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Contemporary clinical trials. 2025 May 2; 107929, DOI: 10.1016/j.cct.2025.107929.
- Vanneman ME, Roberts ET, Li Y, Sileanu FE, Essien UR, Mor MK, Fine MJ, Thorpe CT, Radomski TR, Suda KJ, Gellad WF. Experiences With VA-Purchased Community Care for US Veterans With Mental Health Conditions. JAMA Network Open. 2025 May 1; 8(5):e2511548, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.11548.
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Publication Briefs
(5 of more than 321 MENTAL HEALTH focused publication briefs)
- Younger Veterans with Mental Health Conditions, and Older Veterans with Physical Health Conditions, at High Risk of Suicide Attempt or Self-Directed Violence After COVID-19 Infection
In this study, researchers used the electronic health records of Veterans with a first case of COVID-19 infection between May 1, 2021, and April 30, 2022, to identify subgroups of Veterans with high risk of post-COVID-19 suicide attempts or other self-directed violence (SDV). Findings showed that within 12 months after infection, 2,106 Veterans had suicide attempts or other SDV events (74 per 10,0...
Date: March 4, 2025
- Virtual Mental Health Services Reduce Suicide-Related Events Among Veterans
This study evaluated whether virtual mental health service use affects the risk of individual-level suicide-related events (SREs). Findings showed that a 1% increase in the percentage of virtual mental health visits relative to total visits was associated with a nearly 3% decrease in SREs among Veterans. In this sample, virtual mental health visits comprised 45% of all mental health visits. Findin...
Date: November 5, 2024
- VA’s Telehealth Program for Bipolar Disorders Is Associated with Improved Symptoms, Suicide Risk, Quality of Life, and Prescription Quality
This study examined VA clinical, administrative, and survey data to evaluate outcomes (including symptoms, mood episodes, positive suicide screens, and mental health-related quality of life) for Veterans who were referred to the Bipolar Disorders Telehealth (BDTH) program from 2011 to 2021. Findings showed that Veterans who completed the program reported reductions in manic and depressive symptoms...
Date: October 18, 2024
- Caring Letters Not Associated with Suicide Attempts Following Veterans Crisis Line Contact, But Are Associated with Higher Probability of VA Mental Healthcare Use
This study examined the effectiveness of the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) Caring Letters intervention and determined whether there were differences in outcomes by signatory. Findings showed that Caring Letters were not associated with suicide attempts following VCL contact, but were associated with higher probability of VHA outpatient and inpatient mental healthcare use. There was no association amo...
Date: April 29, 2024
- COVID-19 Infection Associated with More Depression Symptoms among Veterans at 18 months Post-Infection
This study robustly matched COVID-19 infected patients with contemporaneous, uninfected controls to assess the effects of COVID-19 on depression symptoms. Findings showed that COVID-19 infection was associated with more depression symptoms among Veterans at 18 months post-infection, with a significantly higher prevalence of positive depression screening among Veterans with COVID compared to those ...
Date: April 16, 2024
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Studies
( 5 of more than 9 MENTAL HEALTH focused projects
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Project No. |
Title |
PI |
Funding Start |
SDR 22-180
|
Implications of Veterans'' Initial Reintegration Experiences for their Longer-Term Mental Health and Suicidality: Identifying Veterans who Would Benefit from Early Intervention |
Vogt, Dawne |
2024-10-01 |
PPO 22-211
|
Mental Health Clinician/Chaplain Collaboration (MC3): A Pilot Study |
Pyne, Jeffrey |
2024-08-01 |
PPO 22-040
|
Virtual Care Coordination in VA Primary Care-Mental Health Integration |
Leung, Lucinda |
2023-08-01 |
CDA 20-261
|
Understanding Community-based Mental Healthcare for Rural Veterans with Military Sexual Trauma |
Boykin, Derrecka |
2022-04-01 |
CDA 20-104
|
Improving Mental Health for Veterans with Dementia: Provider Training in Caregiver Engagement |
Wyman, Mary |
2021-07-01 |
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HSR Briefs, Reports, Newsletters
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