Over half of veterans in the criminal justice system have
mental health or substance use disorders. However, there is a critical lack of
information about female veterans in the criminal justice system and how
diagnosis prevalence and treatment entry differ by sex.
Objectives: To
document prevalence of mental health and substance use disorder diagnoses and
treatment entry rates among female veterans compared with male veterans in the
justice system.
Research Design: Retrospective cohort study using national
Veterans Health Administration clinical/administrative data from veterans seen
by Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists in fiscal years 2010-2012.
Subjects: A total of
1535 females and 30,478 male veterans were included.
Measures: Demographic characteristics (eg, sex, age,
residence, homeless status), mental health disorders (eg, depression,
post-traumatic stress disorder), substance use disorders (eg, alcohol and
opioid use disorders), and treatment entry (eg, outpatient, residential,
pharmacotherapy).
Results: Among female veterans, prevalence of mental health
and substance use disorders was 88% and 58%, respectively, compared with 76%
and 72% among male veterans. Women had higher odds of being diagnosed with a
mental health disorder and lower odds of being diagnosed with a substance use
disorder compared with men. Women had lower odds
of entering mental health residential treatment.
Conclusions: Female veterans involved in the justice system
have a high burden of mental health disorders (88%) and more than half have
substance use disorders (58%). Entry to mental health residential treatment for
women is an important quality improvement target.
Full article at: http://goo.gl/NulCvY
By: Finlay AK1, Binswanger IA, Smelson D, Sawh L, McGuire J, Rosenthal J, Blue-Howells J, Timko C, Blodgett JC, Harris AH, Asch SM, Frayne S.
- 1*Center for Innovation to Implementation (Ci2i), Substance Use Disorder Quality Research Enhancement Initiative, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park, CA †Division of General Internal Medicine University of Colorado School of Medicine, Community Health Services, Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, CO ‡National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA §Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA ∥School of Criminology and Justice Studies, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Bedford, MA ¶Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Justice Programs #Center for Innovation to Implementation (Ci2i), VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park, CA **Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences ††Division of General Medical Disciplines, Stanford University School of Medicine, Menlo Park, CA.
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