title: Follow-up care for alcohol misuse among OEF/OIF veterans with and without alcohol use disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder.
abstract: Little is known about follow-up care for alcohol misuse in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system among Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans with and without alcohol use disorders (AUD) and/or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Using data from 4725 OEF/OIF VA outpatients with alcohol screening (2006-2010), we compared the prevalence of follow-up for alcohol misuse--brief intervention (BI) or referral to treatment--among patients with and without AUD and/or PTSD. Among 933 (19.7%) patients with alcohol misuse (AUDIT-C ≥5), 77.0% had AUD and/or PTSD. Rates of BI or referral for alcohol misuse were higher among patients with AUD (76.9%) and both AUD and PTSD (70.1%) compared to those with PTSD only (53.1%) and neither AUD nor PTSD (52.3%). Among OEF/OIF VA outpatients with alcohol misuse, those with AUD had higher rates of follow-up for alcohol misuse than those without, but PTSD was not associated with differential follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D), Veterans Affairs (VA) Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA 98101, USA; Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. Electronic address: Joel.Grossbard@va.gov.
authors.forename: Joel R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Grossbard
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Hawkins
authors.forename: Gwen T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Lapham
authors.forename: Emily C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Anna D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Rubinsky
authors.forename: Tracy L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.forename: Karen H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Seal
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Kivlahan
authors.forename: Katharine A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Bradley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D000359:Aftercare / Q000379:methods*; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief / Q000379:methods; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol misuse; Brief alcohol interventions; OEF/OIF veterans; PTSD; Referral to treatment