Evaluation Division Research

The Northeast Program Evaluation Center (NEPEC), headquartered in West Haven, CT, has responsibility for evaluating VA's Office of Mental Health Services programs, including those for specialized treatments of PTSD. It also serves as the evaluation arm of the National Center. During FY 2010 the Division issued the:

• 15th report card on the National Mental Health Program Performance Monitoring System, an evaluation of VA's mental health programs.
• 18th Long Journey Home report on the status of VA's 166 specialized treatment programs for PTSD, PTSD Specialists, and the Serving our Returning Veterans Mental Health (SeRV-MH) Programs.

Service Delivery Issues

In FY 2010 the Division focused on service delivery issues for Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, including gender differences in the care they receive from VA specialized PTSD programs and VA's changing capacity to treat PTSD in these Veterans. One project compared OEF/OIF Veterans to other era Veterans on their outcomes in PTSD care and their risk for homelessness. Another is examining the impact and determinants of chronicity of PTSD and traumatic exposure among homeless female Veterans.

Epidemiology

Aging

Staff are collaborating with other Divisions to examine aging Veterans, using data from the second wave of the National Epidemiologic Study of Alcohol and Related Disorders.

Electronic Medical Records

Over the next year the Division will continue a pilot study to examine the relative validity and Veterans' satisfaction of electronically collecting PTSD symptom information from Veterans coming in for clinic visits. Plans also include the establishment of a comprehensive national database of electronic medical record data for Veterans with PTSD who seek VA care. This database will be utilized to track Veterans over time in order to examine questions related to utilization and continuity of care, drop-out and drop-in rates, physical and psychiatric comorbidity, and medication use and adherence.