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Mental Health and Illness

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Many diseases, injuries, and maladies are associated with psychological or physical impairment that affect mental health. RAND research covers a broad range of mental health and illness topics, including autism spectrum disorders, teen depression, disparities in mental health care, and post-traumatic stress (PTSD) among military veterans and survivors of natural disasters.

Report

The Behavioral Health of Minority Service Members

Feb 1, 2021

Members of minority groups make up a larger percentage of the U.S. military than ever before. Identifying whether and where behavioral health disparities exist among them can help the Department of Defense better address troops' mental health needs and improve force readiness.
Commentary

How COVID-19 Lessons Can Transform U.S. Mental Health Care

Jun 2, 2021

It would be a powerful conclusion to the pandemic if Americans reimagined a health system that was resilient against future threats, including the resulting psychological trauma. Policymakers have the opportunity now to cut short the pandemic's long tail of mental illness by taking decisive action.

Explore Mental Health and Illness

Blog

State of the Union 2022: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine and Domestic Policy

In his first State of the Union address, President Joe Biden rebuked Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, aimed to turn a page on the pandemic, and covered a wide range of domestic issues, including mental health care, prescription drug prices, and supporting veterans.

Mar 2, 2022
Project

Evaluation of California's Statewide Mental Health Prevention and Early Intervention Initiatives

The RAND Corporation is evaluating California's statewide prevention and early intervention programs, which aim to reduce negative outcomes for people experiencing mental illness.

Mar 1, 2022
Commentary

Finding Teachers and Bus Drivers Is a Big Problem, but a Different Staffing Challenge Is Looming in School Districts

The majority of school districts report they don't have enough staff to hire, particularly substitutes, bus drivers, and special education teachers. A recent survey also revealed a major challenge for the superintendency. Only half of superintendents said they were likely to stay in their jobs for the long term.

Feb 17, 2022
Report

Carve-In Models for Specialty Behavioral Health Services: Lessons for California

Many states separate, or "carve out," Medicaid financing of behavioral health services from that for other types of health care, but there has been a recent trend in some states toward "carve-ins": combining financing for behavioral health services with the larger pool of Medicaid-covered services. What lessons do other states' experiences offer for California?

Feb 11, 2022
Report

Challenges That May Be Getting in the Way of Student Learning

As of November 2021, school district leaders' top three concerns were the mental health of students, teachers, and principals. And 74 percent of them said that political polarization about COVID-19 safety or vaccines was interfering with their ability to educate students.

Feb 8, 2022
Journal Article

An Assessment of the Existing Landscape of Longitudinal Data Collection Related to Gambling

This study assesses the landscape of longitudinal data collection on gambling in the UK. This includes identifying data sources, scoping opportunities to add questions on gambling to existing studies and assessing the feasibility and cost of setting up a new longitudinal study on gambling.

Jan 25, 2022
Report

Predictors of PTSD Treatment Retention and Response: A Systematic Review

This systematic review synthesizes the evidence on pretreatment patient characteristics and program features associated with treatment retention, response, and remission in military populations with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Jan 21, 2022
Report

Adult Psychiatric Bed Capacity, Need, and Shortage Estimates in California—2021

California, much like many parts of the United States, is confronting a shortage of psychiatric beds. This report presents an evaluation of California's adult psychiatric bed need for 2021 and the coming years.

Jan 18, 2022
Journal Article

Coordination of Sustainable Financing for Evidence-Based Youth Mental Health Treatments: Protocol for Development and Evaluation of the Fiscal Mapping Process

This protocol describes a mixed-methods research project designed to (1) develop and (2) evaluate a novel Fiscal Mapping Process that guides strategic planning efforts to finance the sustainment of evidence-based treatments in youth mental health services.

Jan 7, 2022
Journal Article

Enhancing Early Engagement (E3) in Mental Health Services Training for Children's Advocacy Center's Victim Advocates: Feasibility Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

This feasibility study protocol describes our plans to develop, implement, and evaluate web-based and consultative training for Children's Advocacy Center Victim Advocates to enhance early engagement in evidence-based youth mental health services.

Jan 7, 2022
Blog

The Most Popular RAND Research of 2021

As another extraordinary year draws to a close, we continue to believe that objective, nonpartisan research and analysis has a key role to play in navigating what continues to be a difficult time. Here are the 10 research projects that resonated most with rand.org readers in 2021.

Dec 22, 2021
Tool

Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) for American Indian Youth

The Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) program helps students exposed to traumatic events who are experiencing emotional or behavioral problems. This tool is an adaptation of the CBITS program for American Indian youth.

Dec 22, 2021
Journal Article

Improving Mental Health Guardianship: From Prevention to Treatment

The authors sought to identify the most promising strategies for improving the mental health guardianship process in Los Angeles County for adults with mental illness who are gravely disabled.

Dec 7, 2021
Report

Military Behavioral Health Staff Perspectives on Telehealth Following the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the Military Health System (MHS) to increase telehealth delivery of behavioral health care. MHS behavioral health staff shared their experiences with telehealth during this period and perspectives on its continued use.

Dec 3, 2021
Journal Article

Movement Behaviors Associated with Mental Health Among US Military Service Members

We analyzed data from active component service members in the 2018 Health Related Behaviors Survey. Findings can help inform behavior change interventions to improve psychological fitness and military readiness.

Nov 30, 2021
Journal Article

Longitudinal Associations of PROMIS-29 Anxiety and Depression Symptoms With Low Back Pain Impact in a Sample of U.S. Military Service Members

This study examines longitudinal associations between psychological symptoms and the Impact Stratification Score among military service members.

Nov 19, 2021
Blog

Supporting America's Veterans: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on helping veterans experiencing homelessness, better care for veterans with brain injuries and PTSD, and easing transitions to the civilian workforce.

Nov 12, 2021
Journal Article

Money and My Mind: Maternal Cash Transfers and Mental Health

This paper documents important mental health spillovers in the context of a program that offered pregnant women modest cash incentives to use pre- and perinatal health care services.

Nov 10, 2021
Essay

Advances in Care for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injuries or PTSD

A new standard of care proposed by RAND researchers aims to redefine high-quality care for veterans with a traumatic brain injury or posttraumatic stress disorder. But it also could serve as a template for making health care more effective, more consistent, and more responsive for more patients.

Nov 8, 2021
Report

Readiness of Soldiers and Adult Family Members Who Receive Behavioral Health Care: Identifying Promising Outcome Metrics

To inform the U.S. Army's efforts to monitor and improve outcomes, the authors of this report aimed to identify promising metrics to assess readiness among soldiers and adult family members who receive behavioral health care.

Nov 2, 2021

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RAND Topic:
Mental Health and Illness

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