Mental Health
Health care reform efforts in the United States seek to ensure appropriate access to mental health care, deliver it efficiently and effectively, and allocate scarce resources wisely. RAND Health is involved in a range of studies that will help policymakers meet these challenges. Some of our current research projects are highlighted below.
Profiles of Current Research
Highlights of Recent Studies
Invisible Wounds: Mental Health and Cognitive Care Needs of America's Returning Veterans — 2008
Summarizes a comprehensive RAND study of the mental health and cognitive needs of returning servicemembers and veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi FreedomBehavioral Health Parity: Consequences for Federal Employee Health Plans
The parity requirements of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and managed care in combination can work to improve behavioral health care protection without increasing total costs.Integrating Treatment for People with Co-Occurring Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders in Public Systems of Care — 2006
Progress is being made in two key areas in treating people with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders: new combination treatment models and innovative financing arrangements.Meeting the Health Care Needs of Adults with Severe Mental Illness— 2006
A key contributor to the problem of reduced treatment access and poorer quality of care given adults with severe mental illness is the disconnection between the mental health care sector, which provides most of the care for the severely mentally ill, and the general health care sector.Three Steps for Improving the Quality of Mental Health Care in the United States — 2006
Three steps to accelerate progress in improving the quality of mental health care in the United States are: (1) expand the pool of effective programs and adapt them to a broader range of settings, (2) improve the infrastructure for delivering evidence-based treatment, and (3) promote innovation in financing.Anxiety Disorders Can Have Broad, Negative Health Effects — 2005
Patients with anxiety disorders (posttraumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and social phobia) are likely to have both physical and mental impairment and overall poor quality of health.Helping Children Cope with Violence — 2005
Students who participated in the Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools program developed at RAND had significantly fewer posttraumatic stress symptoms, less depression, and less psychosocial dysfunction.
Related Web Sites
The BRIGHT Project (Building Recovery by Improving Goals, Habits, & Thoughts)
http://www.rand.org/health/projects/bright/
Teen Depression Awareness Project
Healthcare for Communities
http://www.hsrcenter.ucla.edu/research/hcc.shtml
RAND Partners in Care
UCLA/RAND NIMH Center for Research on Quality in Managed Care
Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS)
Working with Congress
RAND's Washington Office of Congressional Relations (OCR) furthers RAND's mission to provide objective analysis and effective solutions by disseminating research results to Congress and federal agencies. The OCR publishes a monthly electronic newsletter featuring current work on health policy. Contact: Shirley Ruhe (Shirley_Ruhe@rand.org) or Kristy Anderson (kristy@rand.org).
The RAND Health Congressional Newsletter
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