Leah Farrell-Carnahan

• Ph.D., M.A., M.S.
• Medical Professional at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Objective: Present initial descriptive findings from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers (PRC) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Model Systems (MS) National Database. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: VA PRC TBIMS National Database. Participants: 712 service members and veterans with TBI who consented to participa...

Objective: Sleep disturbance is a key behavioral health concern among Iraq and Afghanistan era veterans and is a frequent complaint among veterans with a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Currently, it is unclear whether sleep disturbance is a core sequelae of mTBI or if it may be related to other behavioral health conditions that are...

Abstract Study Objectives: Sleep disturbances are well documented in relation to trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but correlates of such disturbances remain understudied in veteran populations. We conducted a preliminary study of sleep disturbances in OEF/OIF/OND veterans (N=133; mean [SD] age = 29.8 [4.7] years). Methods:...

Study objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to characterize sleep patterns, the quality and duration of sleep, and estimate the prevalence of common sleep disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a hospital-based Veterans Affairs MOVE! (Managing Overweight Veterans Everywhere) clinic. Methods: Participants completed five inst...

Insomnia and behavioural health symptoms 1 year after traumatic brain injury (TBI) were examined in a clinical sample representative of veterans who received inpatient treatment for TBI-related issues within the Veterans Health Administration. This was a cross-sectional sub-study (n = 112) of the Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centres' traumatic brain i...

Objective: To conduct a systematic review of the evidence on interventions for posttraumatic brain injury fatigue (PTBIF). Methods: Systematic searches of multiple databases for peer-reviewed studies published in English on interventions targeting PTBIF as a primary or secondary outcome through January 22, 2014. Reference sections were also revi...

Insomnia is increasingly common among the general population, even more so among veterans. Given the adverse impact of insomnia on both mental and physical health of veterans, it is important to provide effective treatments within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) system. Group-based cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) provides...

This investigation sought to characterize prevalence and factors associated with subjective sleep disturbance (SSD) in a clinical sample of veterans with blast-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Adult veterans with history of blast-related mTBI were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Data on demographics, injury, and current symptoms, in...

In 2008, the Department of Veterans Affairs Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers partnered with the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research to establish a Model Systems program of research that would closely emulate the civilian Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Model Systems Centers Program established in 1987. To describe the develop...

Background: Alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP) is a leading cause of birth defects. Effective face-to-face preconception interventions based on motivational interviewing (MI) exist and should be translated into remote formats for maximum public health impact. This study investigated the feasibility and promise of a one-session, remote-delivered, prec...

Insomnia is a common complaint among cancer survivors. Fortunately, cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) has been shown to be an effective treatment in this population. However, it is rarely implemented given its limited availability. To address this barrier, we examined the ability of an easily accessible online CBT-I program to impro...

Insomnia is highly prevalent among cancer survivors. Previous research suggests cancer survivors may prefer non-pharmacological insomnia treatments and are especially amenable to alternative treatments such as hypnosis. Yet, little is known about the applicability of hypnosis to treat insomnia among cancer survivors. This study investigated feasibi...

Alcohol-exposed pregnancy is a leading cause of preventable birth defects in the United States. This paper describes the motivational patterns that relate to risky drinking and ineffective contraception, two behaviors that can result in alcohol-exposed pregnancy. As part of an intervention study aimed at reducing alcohol-exposed pregnancy 124 women...

The face of HIV/AIDS has shifted. Traditionally disenfranchised groups including African Americans and those known to be current or past substance-users are disproportionately infected and affected by the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic. While caring for all people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is a public health priority, there are vast disparities in H...