Geographical access to specialized behavioral health treatment programs for U.S. active duty service members and military families from military installations
Research Report:
Research SummaryAPA Citation:
Cantor, J. H., & Tong, P. K. (2023). Geographical access to specialized behavioral health treatment programs for U.S. active duty service members and military families from military installations. Preventive Medicine Reports, 34, Article 102267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102267
Abstract Created by REACH:
This study examined the availability of specialized behavioral healthcare services for military families offered by licensed substance use disorder (SUD) or mental health treatment facilities around military installations. Data on whether facilities accepted military insurance and offered specialized treatment programs for military families were taken from two national studies of service providers conducted between 2015–2018. Researchers obtained the military installations’ geographic coordinates to determine distance from treatment facilities. Overall, less than 26% of facilities within 30 minutes of an installation both accepted military insurance and offered treatment tailored to Service members and their families.
Focus:
Substance use
Programming
Branch of Service:
Multiple branches
Military Affiliation:
Active Duty
Subject Affiliation:
Active duty service member
Population:
Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)
Middle age (40 - 64 yrs)
Authors:
Cantor, Jonathan H., Tong, Patricia K.
Abstract:
Active duty service members and their families have unique behavioral health care service needs. The purpose of this study is to determine geographical access to specialized behavioral health programs tailored to active duty U.S. service members and military families from military installations. This study generated network distance measures between active duty military installations and licensed substance use disorder (SUD) treatment facilities and mental health treatment facilities for 2015-2018 using data from national surveys administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and coordinates for active duty military installations from the Defense Installation Spatial Data Infrastructure Program. Using regression analysis, we calculated the share of installations that are at-risk of being remote from behavioral healthcare services. Separately, we calculated the share of treatment facilities accepting military insurance that offer specialized programs for active duty service members and/or military families within a 30-minute drive to an installation. Three out of 10 installations were at-risk of being remote from a behavioral health treatment facility. About 25 percent of behavioral health treatment facilities accepting military insurance within a 30-minute drive to an installation offered a specialized treatment program for active duty military or military families. Lack of a specialized treatment programs could suggest facilities may not be equipped to manage stressors unique to being in the military, and as a consequence, could adversely impact the health and well-being of this population. Further research is necessary to understand what specialized treatment programs for military populations entail.
Publication Type:
Article
REACH Publication
Keywords:
access, drug use, substance abuse, inequalities, mental health, military, veterans
REACH Publication Type:
Research Summary
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