Journal article
"Voice of concern" for rural veterans with PTSD: Care managers' role engaging rural veterans in evidence-based therapies via telemedicine
Psychological trauma, Vol.17(8), pp.1771-1779
11/2025
DOI: 10.1037/tra0001845
PMCID: PMC12353077
PMID: 39977698
Abstract
In a Department of Veterans Affairs collaborative care implementation trial, care managers (CMs) focused on engaging rural Veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder in trauma-focused psychotherapies, specifically cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy, delivered over telehealth. As part of a summative evaluation, we interviewed Veterans about their experience, especially their interactions with their CM. Because relatively few Veterans initiated a trauma-focused psychotherapy, we specifically asked them about their conversations with CMs to better understand what worked and what did not work with regard to treatment engagement.
We conducted phone interviews with a purposive sample of 43 unique Veterans between 2017 and 2019. We purposively sampled Veterans who reported changes in satisfaction with Veterans Affairs posttraumatic stress disorder services and had experiences with different care modalities and patients who declined to initiate a trauma-focused psychotherapy. Data were analyzed using deductive-inductive content analysis.
Overall, Veterans perceived CMs as helpful in three ways: (a) for care coordination-especially with therapists; (b) as a "voice of concern"-for Veterans' health and daily life; and (c) as a "side counselor"-helping prepare Veterans for appointments and following up after their trauma-focused psychotherapy sessions.
Veterans appreciated many qualities about their CM unrelated to trauma-focused psychotherapy. For those engaging in trauma-focused psychotherapy, CMs played the role of "side counselor" helping them stay engaged in care. Understanding patient perspectives about CMs' roles can help other types of providers understand how to best engage patients in trauma-focused psychotherapies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- "Voice of concern" for rural veterans with PTSD: Care managers' role engaging rural veterans in evidence-based therapies via telemedicine
- Creators
- Valentina V Petrova - VA Puget Sound Health Care SystemCarol Simons - VA Puget Sound Health Care SystemSuparna Rajan - VA Puget Sound Health Care SystemHeather Schacht Reisinger - Center for AssessmentJohn Paul NolanJessica Chen - VA Puget Sound Health Care SystemGeorge Sayre - VA Puget Sound Health Care SystemJohn C Fortney - VA Puget Sound Health Care System
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Psychological trauma, Vol.17(8), pp.1771-1779
- DOI
- 10.1037/tra0001845
- PMID
- 39977698
- PMCID
- PMC12353077
- NLM abbreviation
- Psychol Trauma
- ISSN
- 1942-9681
- eISSN
- 1942-969X
- Publisher
- EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING FOUNDATION-AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOC
- Grant note
- Veterans Affairs Office of Rural Health US Department of Veterans Affairs; Quality Enhancement Research Initiative
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 02/20/2025
- Date published
- 11/2025
- Academic Unit
- Center for Social Science Innovation; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984792363702771
Metrics
8 Record Views