MIRECC / CoE

Publication Highlights

Articles and books authored by our affiliates enable us to share research and knowledge about mental health treatment with our Veteran, caregiver, provider, and research communities.

Highlighted Articles

Drs. Julianna Hogan and Jan Lindsay coauthored “A pilot study of a scalable training programme for coaches delivering webSTAIR” (first author: S. Yam) in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology. The training was provided to 68 mental health counselors at Veteran Health Administration Readjustment Counselling Services, who delivered the treatment to 99 Veteran clients. A total of 51% of the coaches completed the program and client outcomes were encouraging. The study contributes much needed information regarding evidence for the effectiveness of 'light-touch' training strategies. The data support the integration and testing of brief training programs in the implementation and dissemination of evidence-based digital interventions. Strategies for improving training completion rates among busy providers and resource-burdened clinical services need to be considered.

Drs. Joseph Boffa (first author), Amanda Raines, and Laurel Harlin (Franklin) published “Insomnia, social disconnectedness, and suicidal ideation severity in underserved Veterans” in Cognitive Therapy and Research. They used a sample of 83 Veterans to model the indirect effect of insomnia severity on suicidal ideation severity through social disconnectedness. Insomnia severity was found to not directly associate with suicidal ideation severity. There was a positive and statistically significant indirect effect of insomnia on suicidal ideation severity through social disconnectedness. These findings extend prior research examining mechanisms that may help explain the link between insomnia and suicidality. Results highlight the importance of including transdiagnostic risk markers like insomnia and social disconnectedness in comprehensive suicide risk assessment.

Drs. Jeff Pyne and Eva Woodward coauthored “Implementation of collaborative care for depression in VA HIV clinics: Translating Initiatives for Depression into Effective Solutions (HITIDES): Protocol for a cluster-randomized type 3 hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial” (first author: J. Painter) in Implementation Science Communications. This trial examines the implementation and effectiveness of HITIDES in 8 VHA HIV clinics randomly assigned to one of two implementation arms. Preliminary work identified implementation strategies acceptable to Veterans living with HIV and HIV care providers; however, the effectiveness and cost of these strategies are unknown. While the depression care team can deliver services consistently with high quality, the ability of the depression care team to engage with HIV care providers at sites is unknown. Findings from this study will be used to inform selection of implementation strategies for a broad rollout to enhance depression and suicide care for people living with HIV.

Last updated: April 23, 2025