abstract: 'IntroductionThe purpose of the study was to investigate factors that

  influence vocational rehabilitation program enrollment and employment at

  discharge of veterans with psychiatric and co-occurring alcohol and

  other substance use disorders enrolled at a veteran health

  administration (VHA) medical center. MethodsA sample of 2,550 veteran

  patients referred for VHA vocational rehabilitation between 2016 and

  2021 were examined for the current study. The current study was

  classified as quality improvement/assurance, thus resulting in exempt

  research by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Institutional Review

  Board. ResultsVeterans with active alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and

  co-occurring depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, or

  bipolar disorders were less likely to be enrolled for vocational

  rehabilitation program services compared to those without these

  co-occurring diagnoses. Veterans with AUD (active \& in-remission status

  combined into one category) and a diagnosis of anxiety were less likely

  to be employed at discharge compared to veterans with AUDs and no

  anxiety diagnosis (anxiety diagnosis - 3.5\% vs. no anxiety diagnosis -

  5.8\%). DiscussionVHA vocational rehabilitation can be an effective

  intervention to assist veterans in reintegrating back into the

  community. Yet, there appears to be some disparities in the program

  enrollment and employment at discharge, depending on the nature of the

  psychiatric diagnosis. Investigating the factors contributing (mediating

  or moderating) to these discrepancies are needed. Although it appears

  access is not the issue in being referred for vocational rehabilitation

  services, other factors are likely contributing to program entry.'
affiliation: 'Sprong, ME (Corresponding Author), Edward Hines Jr VA Med Ctr, Hines,
  IL 60141 USA.

  Sprong, ME (Corresponding Author), Univ Illinois, Sch Publ Management \& Policy,
  Springfield, IL 62703 USA.

  Sprong, Matthew E., Edward Hines Jr VA Med Ctr, Hines, IL 60141 USA.

  Sprong, Matthew E., Univ Illinois, Sch Publ Management \& Policy, Springfield, IL
  62703 USA.

  Hollender, Heaven, Indiana Univ Purdue Univ, Dept Hlth Sci, Indianapolis, IN USA.

  Lee, Yu-Sheng, Univ Illinois, Sch Integrated Sci Sustainabil \& Publ Hlth, Springfield,
  IL USA.

  Williams, Lee Ann Rawlins, Univ North Dakota, Coll Educ \& Human Dev, Rehabil \&
  Human Serv, Grand Forks, ND USA.

  Sneed, Zach, Texas Tech Univ, Hlth Sci Ctr, Sch Hlth Profess, Lubbock, TX USA.

  Garakani, Amir, Greenwich Hosp, Dept Psychiat \& Behav Hlth, Greenwich, CT USA.

  Garakani, Amir; Buono, Frank D., Yale Univ, Sch Med, Dept Psychiat, New Haven, CT
  USA.'
article-number: '1200450'
author: Sprong, Matthew E. and Hollender, Heaven and Lee, Yu-Sheng and Williams, Lee
  Ann Rawlins and Sneed, Zach and Garakani, Amir and Buono, Frank D.
author-email: mspro2@uis.edu
author_list:
- family: Sprong
  given: Matthew E.
- family: Hollender
  given: Heaven
- family: Lee
  given: Yu-Sheng
- family: Williams
  given: Lee Ann Rawlins
- family: Sneed
  given: Zach
- family: Garakani
  given: Amir
- family: Buono
  given: Frank D.
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1200450
files: []
issn: 1664-0640
journal: FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
keywords: 'employment; substance use disorders; veterans; vocational

  rehabilitation; mental health; co-occurring disorders; psychiatric

  disorders; Department of Veteran Affairs'
keywords-plus: 'MENTAL-DISORDERS; WORK; MILITARY; ABUSE; HEALTH; COMPENSATION; ILLNESS;

  STRESS; PEOPLE'
language: English
month: JUL 13
number-of-cited-references: '46'
papis_id: 2ef1d541846b3e435a278131c598977c
ref: Sprong2023disparitiesprogram
times-cited: '0'
title: Disparities in program enrollment and employment outcomes for veterans with
  psychiatric and co-occurring substance use disorders referred or enrolled for VHA
  vocational rehabilitation
type: article
unique-id: WOS:001037081800001
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '0'
volume: '14'
web-of-science-categories: Psychiatry
year: '2023'