The National Health Services Research and Development (HSRD) Meeting was held February 8 through 10 in Baltimore, Maryland. This meeting is usually held every two years, though had been delayed due to COVID. The focus of this year's meeting was on advancing health equity through research, implementation science, and diversity and inclusion; many presentations addressed these important themes. There was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm at the meeting, and for many of us, this was the first time we had seen colleagues and collaborators in person in a long time (and sometimes we didn't recognize each other!). The quality of the science presented was very high. I was particularly pleased that 12 CIVIC investigators and team members attended and presented at the meeting. Indeed, CIVIC was one of the best-represented research centers at the meeting, and several oral and poster presentation sessions on topics such as suicide prevention and disability/spinal cord injury/traumatic brain injury featured multiple CIVIC investigators. I am proud of our strong team science efforts and am feeling very positive about our ability to thrive and contribute going forward - thanks to all of you!

Steven K. Dobscha, MD
CIVIC Director

Dr. Jason Chen builds community wherever he goes. His aptly named research lab, the Connecting Communities for Suicide Prevention Lab (CCSP), studies multiple levels of suicide prevention for high-risk populations, with a focus on military Veterans, community-based approaches, and help-seeking processes. Dr. Chen recognizes that optimal healthcare and health services research is best approached with a team; for him, the more comprehensive the team, the better to serve a broad range of needs.

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Interviewing the CCSP Lab

We interviewed the CCSP Lab about their research experience, what they enjoy about working with the lab, and their future career goals. You can read the full interview here.

Veteran Community Engagement and Social Connection Needs Following Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitalization

by Chris Larsen, BS

Feeling down, having the blues, lost in a crowd; loneliness is a social pain. Over time, loneliness increases risk for serious medical conditions like dementia, schizophrenia, and depression and can cause thoughts of suicide. Feelings of loneliness among the general population are becoming more, not less, common, and pose significant risk to at risk groups like Veterans following inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. Active interventions developing social connectedness are necessary to protect recently hospitalized Veterans with limited social supports, but first, researchers must understand more about the specific needs Veterans have. Dr. Jason Chen and his team worked to categorize and describe social and interpersonal barriers like community access and confidence.

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Psychiatric Disorders Newly Diagnosed After Hospitalization for COVID-19

by Alison Eckhardt, LAc, MAcOM

If the COVID era has been marked by anything, it's uncertainty. From the beginning of the pandemic, public health messaging changed rapidly as new information came to light, and the broader population understandably struggled to keep up. Although many experts predicted negative mental health outcomes from the pandemic more broadly, there have been fewer studies looking at the potential mental health impacts of COVID infection itself. In collaboration with Dr. Denise Hynes, Dr. Jason Chen and colleagues evaluated the development of new mental health diagnoses following hospitalization for COVID-19 in VA patients.

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AnnaMarie O'Neill completed a Ph.D. in Applied Psychology at Portland State University in 2022 with an emphasis in Social Psychology. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from University of Nevada - Reno with a minor in Holocaust, Genocide and Peace Studies. Her research interests have been driven by her passion for investigating social determinants of health. AnnaMarie is especially passionate about the potential for research to advance health and well-being of vulnerable populations (such as military populations) by addressing the contributing social contextual factors.

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• Alan Teo's work on hikikomori (severe social withdrawal) was featured in a short BBC documentary. You can watch the video here!
• The 2023 HSR&D/QUERI National Meeting was held earlier this month as described in the Newsletter Introduction! Jason Chen moderated the Suicide Prevention Paper Session where Megan Lafferty, Steven Dobscha, Lauren Maxim, and Alan Teo all had papers to present! You can watch the recording of the session online at the HSR&D website.

Christopher Larsen, BS ~ Writer

Arielle Hughes, MS ~ Writer

Noah Jacobson, BA ~ Writer

Rachel Matsumoto, MS ~ Writer

Alison Eckhardt, LAc, MAcOM ~ Writer

Beau Edwards, BS ~ Managing Editor

Alan Teo, MD, MS ~ Editor-in-Chief