Mental Health Stigma in the Military

Joie Acosta ; Amariah Becker ; Jennifer L. Cerully ; Michael P. Fisher ; Laurie T. Martin ; Raffaele Vardavas ; Mary Ellen Slaughter ; Terry L. Schell

RAND Corporation

RAND Corporation

关键词: United States Department of Defense;    Traumatic Brain Injury;    Suicide;    Military Health and Health Care;    Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder;    Mental Health Treatment;   

DOI  :  10.7249/RR426
ISBN  :  9780833085047
RP-ID  :  RR-426-OSD

学科分类：自然科学（综合）

美国|英语

来源: RAND Corporation Published Research

【 摘 要 】

Despite the efforts of both the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the Veterans Health Administration to enhance mental health services, many service members are not regularly seeking needed care when they have mental health problems. Without appropriate treatment, these mental health problems can have wide-ranging and negative impacts on the quality of life and the social, emotional, and cognitive functioning of affected service members. The services have been actively engaged in developing policies, programs, and campaigns designed to reduce stigma and increase service members' help-seeking behavior. However, there has been no comprehensive assessment of these efforts' effectiveness and the extent to which they align with service members' needs or evidence-based practices. The goal of this research was to assess DoD's approach to stigma reduction — how well it is working and how it might be improved. To address these questions, RAND researchers used five complementary methods: (1) literature review, (2) a microsimulation modeling of costs, (3) interviews with program staff, (4) prospective policy analysis, and (5) an expert panel. The priorities outlined in this report represent a first step for where additional program and policy development and research and evaluation are needed to improve understanding of how best to get service members with mental health disorders the needed treatment as efficiently and effectively as possible.