Veterans Health Administration Mental Health Program Evaluation: Capstone Report

The research described in this report was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and was conducted by Altarum and RAND Health, a division of the RAND Corporation.The RAND/Altarum team conducted this study between August 2006 and November 2010.The evaluation represents the most comprehensive evaluation of a mental health care system ever undertaken. The evaluation focused on the quality of care delivered to veterans with one or more of five mental health or substance abuse diagnoses: (1) schizophrenia; (2) bipolar disorder; (3) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); (4) major depressive disorder; (5) substance use disorder.The evaluation's results should be of interest to policymakers in the areas of national defense and veterans' affairs, to mental health professionals, and to veterans and other audiences interested in veterans' health issues.