According to the authors of recent research from Cherry Point, North Carolina, 'Meeting the mental health needs of Veterans returning from recent deployment requires the coordinated effort of partnerships across Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and state and local communities. Although the proportion of Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who have accessed VA health care has grown, the majority of these new combat Veterans have yet to present for VA care.'
'The stigma associated with reporting a deployment-related mental health problem may be one factor in this, but access to treatment may also be an important concern among the one third of American Veterans who live in rural or highly rural areas. As these Veterans are more likely to present to a primary care, faith-based or mental health provider in their own community, partnerships between community providers, DoD, and VA are of critical importance in ensuring appropriate care, regardless of treatment setting. In an effort to improve services and access to services, especially to rural Veterans, an educational public health initiative was created to educate community providers about military culture, deployment-related mental health issues, VA resources, and evidence-based treatments,' wrote K.A. Straits-Troster and colleagues.
The researchers concluded: 'We describe the development, dissemination and evaluation of this initiative, as well as lessons learned for future similar endeavors.'
Straits-Troster and colleagues published their study in Psychological Trauma-Theory Research Practice and Policy (Developing Community Capacity to Treat Post-Deployment Mental Health Problems: A Public Health Initiative. Psychological Trauma-Theory Research Practice and Policy, 2011;3(3):283-291).
For additional information, contact K.A. Straits-Troster, Naval Health Clinic, Dept. of Mental Health, Cherry Point, NC, United States.
Publisher contact information for the journal Psychological Trauma-Theory Research Practice and Policy is: Educational Publishing Foundation-American Psychological Association, 750 First St., NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, USA.
Keywords: City:Cherry Point, State:North Carolina, Country:United States, Region:North and Central America, Aerospace
This article was prepared by Defense & Aerospace Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2011, Defense & Aerospace Week via VerticalNews.com.
