Delivery Order VA24112D0230-VA24114J0393

OTEHR FUNCTIONS: CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE EXPERT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TO THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR PTSD ON PREVAILING HEALTH ISSUES. THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE EXPERT GUIDANCE AND SERVICES WITH RESPECT TO PSYCHOMETRIC THEORY AND SCALE DEVELOPMENT, RESEARCH DESIGN, DATA ANALYTIC STRATEGIES, AND INTERPRETATION OF STATISTICAL FINDINGS FOR VARIOUS VA AND NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH (NIH)-FUNDED STUDIES CONDUCTED BY PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS (PIS) AFFILIATED WITH THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD(NC), BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE DIVISION AND THE WOMEN S HEALTH SCIENCES DIVISION (DELINEATED BELOW), AS WELL AS THE OTHER VISN 1 AND VISN 21 DIVISIONS OF THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR PTSD, AS APPROPRIATE. THE FULL RANGE OF SERVICES NEEDED TO ACCOMPLISH THE RESULTS IS EXPECTED TO BE PERFORMED BY THE CONTRACTOR. 2. PROJECTS AND TASKS THE CONTRACTOR SHALL FURTHER AND SUPPORT THE FOLLOWING VA RESEARCH PROGRAMS WITH EXPERT SERVICES: A) STRESS, HEALTH AND AGING RESEARCH PROGRAM (SHARP). THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO EXAMINE RISK AND RESILIENCE FACTORS AMONG AGING VIETNAM VETERANS. TOPICS OF INTEREST INCLUDE: 1) DETERMINING THE DEGREE TO WHICH PTSD MEDIATES EFFECTS OF TRAUMA EXPOSURE ON HEALTH OVER THE LIFESPAN, 2) DETERMINING IF PTSD TREATMENT ALTERS THE IMPACT OF PTSD ON HEALTH IN LATER LIFE, AND 3) EXAMINING THE NATURE OF LATE-ONSET STRESS SYMPTOMATOLOGY (LOSS) AND ITS EFFECTS ON HEALTH. B) OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM/OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM (OEF/OIF) SURVEY PROJECT THIS PROJECT INVOLVES UPDATING AND VALIDATING A WIDELY USED SUITE OF SCALES TO ASSESS DEPLOYMENT-RELATED PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK AND RESILIENCE FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH POST-DEPLOYMENT HEALTH. C) WORK AND FAMILY FUNCTIONING IN WOMEN VETERANS PROJECT - THE FOCUS OF THIS LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF OEF/OIF VETERANS IS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WOMEN VETERANS OCCUPATIONAL AND FAMILY FUNCTIONING IN THE POST-DEPLOYMENT PERIOD, WITH A FOCUS ON IMPLICATIONS FOR USE OF VA PROGRAMS AND SERVICES (E.G., HEALTH-CARE, EMPLOYMENT, AND EDUCATION SERVICES). D) STIGMA AND MENTAL HEALTH CARE USE PROJECT THIS PROJECT IS A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF BARRIERS TO MENTAL HEALTH CARE SEEKING AMONG OEF/OIF VETERANS. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY ARE: (1) TO EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STIGMA-RELATED FACTORS AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE USE OVER TIME; AND (2) TO ISOLATE THE LONGITUDINAL EFFECT OF STIGMA-RELATED FACTORS ON SERVICE USE ABOVE AND BEYOND OTHER IDENTIFIED BARRIERS TO CARE. E) PSYCHOSOCIAL PATHWAYS FOR POST-DEPLOYMENT HEALTH OUTCOMES PROJECT THIS PROJECT IS A LONGITUDINAL STUDY EXAMINING MODIFIABLE PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS WITHIN RISK PATHWAYS LINKING DEPLOYMENT STRESS EXPOSURE, MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMATOLOGY, AND POST-DEPLOYMENT PHYSICAL HEALTH PROBLEMS IN OEF/OIF VETERANS. F) PTSD REGISTRY PROJECT THIS PROJECT INVOLVES THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FIRST REGISTRY OF COMBAT-EXPOSED MEN AND WOMEN WITH PTSD TO ADDRESS THE MAJOR AREAS OF IDENTIFIED NEED. THIS NATIONAL PTSD REGISTRY WILL PROVIDE ESSENTIAL DATA ON THE NATURAL HISTORY, INCLUDING PROGRESSION AND REMISSION, AND OUTCOMES ASSOCIATED WITH PTSD IN MILITARY SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN WHO WERE NEW USERS OF THE VA MEDICAL SYSTEM SINCE 2002. G) GROUP COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC PTSD: RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL WITH VETERANS - THIS PROJECT IS A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL EXAMINING THE EFFICACY OF A COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL (CB) GROUP FOR THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PTSD. VETERANS WITH A PRIMARY DIAGNOSIS OF CHRONIC PTSD WILL BE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO EITHER CB GROUP TREATMENT OR SUPPORTIVE GROUP TREATMENT. H) POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER TRAINING - MENTOR 4 NIH T32 POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS CONCERNING ALL ASPECTS OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS WITH SPECIFIC EMPHASIS ON QUANTITATIVE METHODS, ESPECIALLY WITH REGARD TO LONGITUDINAL MODELS.