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Assessing the structure, content, and perceived social climate of residential posttraumatic stress disorder treatment programs
Author(s) -
Johnson David Read,
Rosenheck Robert,
Fontana Alan
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.2490100303
Subject(s) - veterans affairs , posttraumatic stress , psychology , anxiety disorder , program structure , psychiatry , clinical psychology , medicine , computer science , programming language , anxiety
This study utilized a comprehensive assessment of program structure, content, and social climate to determine whether specialized residential posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) programs (SIPUs, n = 19) can be differentiated from general psychiatric units (GPUs, n = 18) within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Significant differences between program types were found: SIPUs were more clearly differentiated from the larger hospital system, had more strict patient selection criteria and program regulations, longer length of stays and lower admission rates, and spent more program time on PTSD symptoms and war zone experiences than GPUs. Veterans in the SIPUs ( n = 453) rated the programs significantly higher on most social climate measures than veterans with PTSD in the GPUs ( n = 153), indicating that veterans perceived these programs as more active, supportive, and better structured.