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Charles C. Engel

Photo of Charles Engel
Senior Physician Policy Researcher
Boston Office

Education

M.P.H. in epidemiology, University of Washington School of Public Health; M.D. in medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; B.S. in biology, University of Washington

Overview

Charles Engel is a senior physician policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Also a psychiatrist and clinical epidemiologist, his research has focused on health system strategies for improving quality of care and outcomes related to chronic mental and physical health conditions. His work has often focused on the health effects of war, terrorism, and disasters. Engel has authored or coauthored more than 130 scholarly articles, including in the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and the American Journal of Psychiatry. He has published more than 200 scholarly abstracts and delivered more than 200 invited presentations in eleven countries. His work covers mental health in primary care, post-war syndromes and symptoms (e.g., Gulf War syndrome) and PTSD as well as research methods relating to pragmatic randomized trial design, health knowledge readiness and impact assessment, clinical practice guideline development, program evaluation, and implementation science. Funding for Engel's research has come from the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense and other agencies. Before RAND, Engel was associate chair for research for the Uniformed Services University Department of Psychiatry. Engel served on the Board of Directors of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and is a recipient of the Porter Award from the Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S. for contributions to psychiatry in the military. Engel received his M.P.H. from the University of Washington School of Public Health and his M.D. from the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

  • A Randomized Effectiveness Trial of a Systems-level Approach to Stepped Care for War-Related PTSD
  • Evaluation of Military Behavioral Health in the Patient Centered Medical Home Initiative
  • Development of a Knowledge Readiness Level Framework for Medical Research
  • 2015 Survey of the Health-Related Behaviors of Military Personnel
  • Services on the Patient Safety Center of Inquiry on Suicide

Selected Publications

Engel CC, Jaycox LH, Freed MC, Bray RM, Brambilla D, Zatzick D, Litz B, Tanielian T, Novak LA, Lane ME, Belsher BE, Olmsted KL, Evatt DP, Vandermaas-Peeler R, Unützer J, Katon WJ, "Centrally Assisted Collaborative Telecare for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression Among Military Personnel Attending Primary Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial," JAMA Internal Medicine, 176(7):948-56, 2016

Bray RM, Engel CC, Williams J, Jaycox JH, Lane ME, Morgan JK, Unützer J, "Military-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Primary Care Trajectories and Predictors of One-year Prognosis," Journal of Traumatic Stress, 29(4):340-8, 2016

Ramchand R, Ayer L, Kotzias V, Engel C, Predmore Z, Ebener P, Kemp JE, Karras E, Haas G., "Suicide Risk among Women Veterans in Distress: Perspectives of Responders on the Veterans Crisis Line," Women's Health Issues, 2016

Engel CC, Litz B, Magruder KM, Harper E, Gore K, Stein N, Yeager D, Liu X, Coe TR, "Delivery of Self Training and Education for Stressful Situations (DESTRESS-PC): A Randomized Trial of Nurse Assisted Online Self-Management for PTSD in Primary Care," General Hospital Psychiatry, 37(4):323-8, 2015

Breslau J, Engel CC, "Information and Communication Technologies in Behavioral Health: A Literature Review with Recommendations for the Air Force," Publication number RR-1054-AF. Santa Monica: RAND Corporation, 2015

Engel CC, Bray RM, Jaycox LH, Freed MC, Zatzick D, Lane ME, Brambilla D, Rae Olmsted K, Vandermaas-Peeler R, Litz B, Tanielian T, Belsher BE, Evatt DP, Novak LA, Unützer J, Katon WJ, "Implementing collaborative primary care for depression and posttraumatic stress disorder: Design and sample for a randomized trial in the U.S. military health system," Contemporary Clinical Trials, 39(2):310-9, 2014

Engel CC, Cordova EH, Benedek DM, Liu X, Gore KL, Goertz C, Freed MC, Crawford C, Jonas WB, Ursano RJ, "Randomized Effectiveness Trial of a Brief Course of Acupuncture for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder," Medical Care, 52:S57-S64, 2014

Engel CC, "Suicide, mental disorders, and the US military: time to focus on mental health service delivery," JAMA, 310(5):484-5, 2013

Commentary

  • A physical therapist greeting a patient in a hospital rehab gym

    Military Turns to Collaborative Care to Treat PTSD, Depression

    Collaborative care has been an important part of Army efforts to reach out to those struggling with PTSD and depression. It has brought a science-based solution to an essential military problem and has helped thousands of men and women in uniform in ways that also nudge the larger mental health system toward greater effectiveness for all Americans.

    Nov 19, 2014 Psychiatric News

  • Two U.S. soldiers with sunglasses

    Compromised Confidentiality in the Military Is Harmful

    Mental health stigma exists across American society, but the problem in the military is fundamentally different. It boils down to the jarring and institutionalized military failure to place adequate boundaries between the workplace and the therapist's office.

    Oct 27, 2014 Psychiatric Times

  • Distressed soldier with counselor

    Military and Veteran Mental Health: Why Should Psychiatrists Care?

    What's happening in the mental health world of the U.S. military and veterans is of great interest to all American psychiatrists. The local impact of recent deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan runs much deeper than just the number of veterans in a particular practice or community.

    Aug 6, 2014 Psychiatric Times

Publications