Abstract
Many veterans receive behavioral health care services from providers in their communities. The Community Provider Toolkit (the Toolkit) is a website developed by the National Center for PTSD and the Department of Veterans Affairs intended to provide community mental health care providers with key veteran-focused educational resources. This mixed-methods study examined the potential impact of the Toolkit on provider knowledge and behaviors. Sixty-four clinicians in the community who currently or plan to provide services to veterans were surveyed. The majority of providers found the website useful and easy to navigate. After visiting the site, many providers found additional online and educational resources that they would add to a hypothetical treatment plan. Forty-five providers completed a 1-month follow-up survey focused on use of the Toolkit. Results indicate that the Toolkit may be a valuable tool for increasing provider knowledge about veteran-specific resources.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Charrin Kimble, M.A., Laura Marker, M.A., Josef Ruzek, Ph.D., and Kevin Lai.
Funding
This work was supported by operational funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and facilities at the National Center for PTSD, Dissemination and Training Division, Menlo Park, CA. The contents of this manuscript do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government.
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McCaslin, S.E., Mackintosh, MA., Chang, A. et al. Serving Veterans in their Communities: Evaluation of an Online Resource for Behavioral Health Care Providers. Community Ment Health J 57, 1499–1504 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00766-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-020-00766-6