The switch to remote psychotherapy treatment for veterans diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder has worked for some patients during the COVID-19 pandemic but not for others.
The University of Central Florida and the Orlando VA Healthcare System will explore why that 麻豆精品 S檚 the case in a new study that could aid in finding ways to improve therapy delivery during the modern era of pandemics.
The nine-month project will be funded by a more than $25,000 grant from the Veterans Health Administration Office of Research and Development.
麻豆精品 S淎 large proportion of veterans deal with mental health issues, but often psychotherapy fails to improve their symptoms because for this treatment to be most effective, the patient must adhere to the full schedule, typically involving 10 to 12 sessions, 麻豆精品 S� says Christian King, an assistant professor in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 and the project 麻豆精品 S檚 co-investigator.
麻豆精品 S淲e wanted to understand why some veterans complete their treatments while others do not, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淭hen COVID-19 happened and all sessions that were previously in-person were moved to videoconference or telephone. So the need to understand how to keep veterans engaged in therapy became more urgent because the switch to remote modality created new hurdles. 麻豆精品 S�
The project will mine the electronic medical records of VA to understand how the pandemic affected patients 麻豆精品 S� treatment for PTSD and depression during the 2020 fiscal year.
In addition to King, the research team includes assistant professor Andriy Koval and associate professor Varadraj Gurupur, both with UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of Health Management and Informatics; Dr. Diana Mendez, the project 麻豆精品 S檚 principal investigator, with the Orlando VA Healthcare System; Dr. Teresa Carper with Orlando VA Healthcare System; and Dr. Adam Golden with Orlando VA Healthcare System and UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Medicine.
麻豆精品 S淲e hope that our study will help improve the treatment of PTSD and depression for veterans, 麻豆精品 S� King says.
King received his doctorate in public policy in a joint program from Georgia State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and his master 麻豆精品 S檚 in statistics and economics and his bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 in economics and French literature from Hunter College, City University of New York. King joined UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of Health Management and Informatics, part of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Community Innovation and Education, in 2018.
