Heather Krull

Director, Personnel, Training, and Health program, RAND Arroyo Center; Senior Economist

Off Site Office

Education

Ph.D. in economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; B.A. in economics and mathematics, St. Norbert College

One Page Bio

Overview

Heather Krull is the director of the RAND Arroyo Center's Personnel, Training, and Health program, and a senior economist at the RAND Corporation. Her research spans military recruiting, retention, and health policy topics. She has led a number of studies related to the joint Department of Defense/Department of Veterans Affairs disability evaluation system. Other work includes assessments of how traumatic brain injury and mental health are treated in the military health system, options for maintaining clinical proficiency for future deployments among military providers, developing competencies for providers who rehabilitate service members and veterans who have experienced amputation, and examining readiness patterns among those who transfer from the active component to the reserve component. Krull also led an assessment of the current and projected health care needs of patients served by Veterans Affairs, a requirement of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014. She earned her B.A. in economics and mathematics from St. Norbert College and her Ph.D. in economics from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

Interrelationships Among Disability Evaluation and Accession Medical Standards
Options for Maintaining Deployment Clinical Proficiency During Peacetime
Current and Projected Characteristics and Unique Health Care Needs of the Patient Population Served by the Department of Veterans Affairs
Leveraging Technology to Enhance the Effectiveness of Army Recruiting by Connecting with America’s Youth
Validation Analysis of the Federal Air Marshal Staffing Requirements for the Federal Air Marshal Service

Selected Publications

Eibner, Christine, Heather Krull, Kristine M. Brown, Matthew Cefalu, Andrew Mulcahy, Michael S. Pollard, Kanaka D. Shetty, David M. Adamson, Ernesto F. L. Amaral, Philip Armour, Trinidad Beleche, Olena Bogdan, Jaime L. Hastings, Kandice A. Kapinos, Amii M, Current and Projected Characteristics and Unique Health Care Needs of the Patient Population Served by the Department of Veterans Affairs, RAND Corporation (RR-RR-1165z1-VA), 2015

Farmer, Carrie, Heather Krull, Thomas W. Concannon, Molly Simmons, Francesca Pillemer, Teague Ruder, Andrew Parker, Maulik Purohit, Liisa Hiatt, Benjamin Batorsky, and Kimberly A. Hepner, Understanding treatment of mild traumatic brain injury in the Military Health System, RAND Corporation (RR-RR-844-OSD), 2016

Publications

Report
Quantifying Potential Cost Avoidance Implications of Outcomes Reported in Behavioral and Social Science Research
This report summarizes and develops utility functions for a series of behavioral and social science studies to help senior leaders translate the research results into estimates of cost avoidance or other desired benefits.
Feb 22, 2023
Report
Independent Review of the Army Combat Fitness Test: Summary of Key Findings and Recommendations
The U.S. Army is introducing a new fitness test for the first time in more than 40 years. In this report, the authors conduct a review of the Army Combat Fitness Test and provide recommendations to support the Army's implementation decisions.
Mar 23, 2022
Research Brief
Fit for Duty: Alternative Approaches for Determining Department of Defense Disability Compensation
RAND researchers evaluated four hypothetical alternative U.S. Department of Defense disability compensation approaches that would support a simpler disability evaluation process by reducing reliance on disability ratings.
Feb 9, 2022
Report
U.S. Department of Defense Disability Compensation Under a Fitness-for-Duty Evaluation Approach
In this report, the authors evaluate four hypothetical alternative U.S. Department of Defense disability compensation approaches that would support a simpler disability evaluation process by reducing reliance on disability ratings.
Jan 28, 2022
Report
Readiness of Soldiers and Adult Family Members Who Receive Behavioral Health Care: Identifying Promising Outcome Metrics
To inform the U.S. Army's efforts to monitor and improve outcomes, the authors of this report aimed to identify promising metrics to assess readiness among soldiers and adult family members who receive behavioral health care.
Nov 2, 2021
Report
Evolution of Department of Defense Disability Evaluation and Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury: Overview of Policy Changes, 2001–2018
The authors review major policy changes to the military's disability evaluation system between 2001 and 2018 with a particular focus on changes to policies related to posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
May 10, 2021
Research Brief
Post 9/11 Trends in Medical Separation and Separation for Service Members with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury
Trends in military medical discharges and disability ratings can help the U.S. Department of Defense set goals for diagnosing, treating, and evaluating service members with posttraumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury.
May 10, 2021
Report
Trends in Department of Defense Disability Evaluation System Ratings and Awards for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury, 2002–2017
The authors conduct an empirical analysis of trends in diagnosis, treatment, and disability evaluation for posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury among military service members between 2002 and 2017.
May 10, 2021
Report
Characteristics and Duty Limitations of Service Members Transferring Between the Active and Reserve Components
The authors analyze characteristics and duty limitations of service members who transfer between active and reserve components and make recommendations to reduce the number of personnel who transfer with medical conditions that limit deployability.
Dec 15, 2020
Report
Options for Maintaining Clinical Proficiency During Peacetime
The U.S. Army Medical Department cares for war wounded during conflict and operates medical treatment facilities that care for service members, their beneficiaries, and military retirees. How can the Army help providers prepare at home for wartime?
May 19, 2020
Report
Assessment of Alternative Funding Models for Activities in RDECOM (Now CCDC) and ATEC
Current funding models and impacts of alternative models are assessed by the authors to help the U.S. Army increase the transparency of reimbursable accounting practices and improve auditability at two Army commands.
Feb 6, 2020
Report
Social Media and the Army: Implications for Outreach and Recruiting
Social media platforms play a key role in the U.S. Army's outreach and recruiting efforts. The authors analyzed these efforts to see if and how potential recruits and others are engaging with the Army's content and offer related recommendations.
Jun 3, 2019
Report
Core Competencies for Amputation Rehabilitation
The authors identify core competencies and behaviors in nine provider disciplines that participate in amputation rehabilitation and offer recommendations on how to implement them in the military health setting.
Jun 3, 2019
Report
The Relationship Between Disability Evaluation and Accession Medical Standards
If accession medical policies are changed, does the probability of medical discharge change? If so, how does the change in the probability of medical discharge alter postservice costs to the department? This report answers these questions.
Mar 11, 2019
Report
An Evaluation of the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety
The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act required an evaluation of the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety and its Civilian Marksmanship Program. This report summarizes the RAND Arroyo Center evaluation.
Feb 25, 2019
Report
Prospective Outcome Assessment for Alternative Recruit Selection Policies
To help the Army select recruits more likely to complete their first term and avoid adverse outcomes, this report describes a tool that estimates how changes in a variety of recruit characteristics affect first-term outcomes and costs to the Army.
Jul 6, 2018
Research Brief
Characteristics and Treatment Patterns of Service Members with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
This research brief describes the first comprehensive study of care for mild traumatic brain injury, or concussion, in the Military Health System, including patient characteristics, care settings, co-occurring conditions, and long-term care needs.
Apr 18, 2016
Report
Understanding Treatment of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in the Military Health System
This first population-based study of care received by service members with mild traumatic brain injury in the Military Health System profiles patients, their care settings and treatments, co-occurring conditions, and risk factors for long-term care.
Apr 18, 2016
Report
Quality of Care for PTSD and Depression in the Military Health System: Phase I Report
This report describes the characteristics of active-component service members who received care for PTSD or depression through the Military Health System and assesses the quality of such care using quality measures derived from administrative data.
Feb 18, 2016
Research Brief
Supporting Readiness: Ensuring Excellent PTSD and Depression Care for Service Members
This research brief summarizes the findings of a report on the quality of psychological care through the Military Health System for service members diagnosed with PTSD or depression and recommends strategies for improving such care.
Feb 18, 2016
Report
Current and Projected Characteristics and Unique Health Care Needs of the Patient Population Served by the Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans who rely on Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care are older and less healthy than other veterans. Analysis of a range of data sources showed how the veteran population and demand for VA health care could change in the next decade.
Dec 31, 2015
Report
Health and Economic Outcomes Among the Alumni of the Wounded Warrior Project: 2013
The authors use the Wounded Warrior Project's 2013 survey of its members to understand the physical, mental, and economic challenges that they face.
May 21, 2014
Report
Strategies for Private-Sector Development and Civil-Service Reform in the Kurdistan Region — Iraq: Arabic-language version
This monograph provides strategies to reemploy civil-service workers in the private sector and to increase private-sector employment in the Kurdistan Region -- Iraq.
May 13, 2014
Report
Strategies for Private-Sector Development and Civil-Service Reform in the Kurdistan Region — Iraq: Kurdish-language version
This monograph provides strategies to reemploy civil-service workers in the private sector and to increase private-sector employment in the Kurdistan Region -- Iraq.
Apr 28, 2014
Report
Strategies for Private-Sector Development and Civil-Service Reform in the Kurdistan Region — Iraq
Strategies for Private-Sector Development and Civil-Service Reform in the Kurdistan Region -- Iraq
Apr 14, 2014
Report
Health and Economic Outcomes in the Alumni of the Wounded Warrior Project: 2010–2012
This report describes how Wounded Warrior Project alumnus respondents are faring in domains related to mental health and resiliency, physical health, and employment and finances.
Feb 24, 2014
Report
Unemployment Among Post-9/11 Veterans and Military Spouses After the Economic Downturn
Policymakers need to understand whether military spouses succeed at finding jobs and how veterans fare economically after they leave the military. But these groups differ from the civilian population in important ways, making comparisons difficult.
Nov 9, 2012
Report
Health and Economic Outcomes in the Alumni of the Wounded Warrior Project
The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) supports the mind, spirit, body, and economic well-being of those injured during service on or after September 11, 2001. This report details an analysis of how alumni were meeting program goals.
Aug 17, 2012
Report
Improving Joint Expeditionary Medical Planning Tools Based on a Patient Flow Approach
The authors propose a planning concept for U.S. military expeditionary medical care that promotes patient flow rate as the common unit of measurement for treatment and evacuation functions.
Apr 24, 2012
Report
Evaluating Navy's Funded Graduate Education Program: A Return-on-Investment Framework
The financial costs of graduate education are difficult to recoup, but the Navy benefits from broadly educating its officers. The skills and general knowledge thus gained add value throughout a career, particularly one headed for flag rank.
Aug 3, 2010