Evaluation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services

Evaluation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309466601
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 467

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Book Description
Approximately 4 million U.S. service members took part in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Shortly after troops started returning from their deployments, some active-duty service members and veterans began experiencing mental health problems. Given the stressors associated with war, it is not surprising that some service members developed such mental health conditions as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and substance use disorder. Subsequent epidemiologic studies conducted on military and veteran populations that served in the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq provided scientific evidence that those who fought were in fact being diagnosed with mental illnesses and experiencing mental healthâ€"related outcomesâ€"in particular, suicideâ€"at a higher rate than the general population. This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the quality, capacity, and access to mental health care services for veterans who served in the Armed Forces in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn. It includes an analysis of not only the quality and capacity of mental health care services within the Department of Veterans Affairs, but also barriers faced by patients in utilizing those services.

Evaluation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services

Evaluation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309466601
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 467

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Book Description
Approximately 4 million U.S. service members took part in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Shortly after troops started returning from their deployments, some active-duty service members and veterans began experiencing mental health problems. Given the stressors associated with war, it is not surprising that some service members developed such mental health conditions as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and substance use disorder. Subsequent epidemiologic studies conducted on military and veteran populations that served in the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq provided scientific evidence that those who fought were in fact being diagnosed with mental illnesses and experiencing mental healthâ€"related outcomesâ€"in particular, suicideâ€"at a higher rate than the general population. This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the quality, capacity, and access to mental health care services for veterans who served in the Armed Forces in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn. It includes an analysis of not only the quality and capacity of mental health care services within the Department of Veterans Affairs, but also barriers faced by patients in utilizing those services.

Veterans Access to Mental Health Care

Veterans Access to Mental Health Care PDF Author: Edgar W. Schneider
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781634851954
Category : Veterans
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Between 2005 and 2013, the number of veterans receiving mental health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) increased 63 percent, outpacing overall growth in veterans receiving any VHA health care. In fiscal year 2014, VHA spent more than $3.9 billion providing outpatient specialty mental health care (mental health care) to more than 1.5 million veterans. This book examines, among other things, veterans access to timely mental health care, and VHAs related oversight.

Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan

Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309152852
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
Nearly 1.9 million U.S. troops have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001. Many service members and veterans face serious challenges in readjusting to normal life after returning home. This initial book presents findings on the most critical challenges, and lays out the blueprint for the second phase of the study to determine how best to meet the needs of returning troops and their families.

Military Mental Health Care

Military Mental Health Care PDF Author: Cheryl Lawhorne-Scott
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 1442220945
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
Too often American veterans return from combat and spiral into depression, anger and loneliness they can neither share nor tackle on their own. Military Mental Health Care: A Guide for Service Members, Veterans, Families, and Community seeks to aid our troubled, returning forces by dissecting the numerous mental health problems they face upon arriving stateside. Don Philpott and Cheryl Lawhorne-Scott, co-authors with Janelle Hill of the highly successful Wounded Warrior Handbook, detail not only each issue’s symptoms, but also discuss what treatments are available, and the best ways for veterans to access those treatments while readjusting to civilian life. In addition, they connect and explain many alarming trends, such as joblessness, poverty and addiction, appearing in our nation’s veteran population on a broader scale. PTSD and struggles with anxiety affect far more than veterans themselves, as sobering phenomena like homelessness, suicide, domestic violence and divorce too often become realities for those returning from war. Military Mental Health Care is both a resource for struggling veterans and a useful tool for their loved ones, or anyone looking for ways to support the veterans in their lives.

Homelessness Among U.S. Veterans

Homelessness Among U.S. Veterans PDF Author: Jack Tsai
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190695137
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
The challenges facing military veterans who return to civilian life in the United States are persistent and well documented. But for all the political outcry and attempts to improve military members' readjustments, veterans of all service eras face formidable obstacles related to mental health, substance abuse, employment, and — most damningly — homelessness. Homelessness Among U.S. Veterans synthesizes the new glut of research on veteran homelessness — geographic trends, root causes, effective and ineffective interventions to mitigate it — in a format that provides a needed reference as this public health fight continues to be fought. Codifying the data and research from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) campaign to end veteran homelessness, psychologist Jack Tsai links disparate lines of research to produce an advanced and elegant resource on a defining social issue of our time.

Care of Military Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families

Care of Military Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families PDF Author: Stephen J. Cozza
Publisher: American Psychiatric Pub
ISBN: 1585625310
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
Care of Military Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families serves a critical need, which has been highlighted by recent reported rates of combat-related stress disorders and traumatic brain injury, as well as increases in suicide rates among service members and veterans over the past decade and the distress and challenges faced by their children and families. More than 2.5 million Americans currently serve in the U.S. military on active duty, in the Reserves, or in the National Guard, and more than 20 million civilians are veterans. Although patients are viewed here in the context of military service, they seek health care in military, veteran, and civilian settings, and their mental health concerns are as diverse as those encountered in the civilian population. This book is designed for clinicians in all care settings and provides thorough coverage of U.S. military structures and cultures across the armed services, as well as detailed material on the particular mental health challenges faced by service members and their families. A full overview of the military lifestyle is provided, including the life cycle of the military (recruitment to retirement), service subcultures (Navy, Army, Marines, Air Force, and Reserve and Guard components), challenges of military life for service members and families (moves, deployments, etc.), and military mental health. Material on military culture provides insight for practitioners who may not be familiar with this population. The book focuses on collaborative care, particularly between the military health care system and the Veterans Administration, providing clinicians with strategies to mitigate stigma and other barriers to care through mental health service delivery in primary care settings. The incidence of traumatic brain injury among service members has increased because of the use of improvised explosive devices, and an entire chapter is devoted to diagnosing and treating these injuries as well as educating patients and their families on the condition. The families of service members face significant challenges, and several chapters are devoted to the needs of military children, the families of ill and injured service members and veterans, deployment-related care, and caring for the bereaved. The book's comprehensive review of resources available to military service members, veterans, and families both ensures high-quality care and reduces the workload for treating physicians. Care of Military Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families is an authoritative and much-needed addition to the mental health literature.

Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions

Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309133661
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description
Each year, more than 33 million Americans receive health care for mental or substance-use conditions, or both. Together, mental and substance-use illnesses are the leading cause of death and disability for women, the highest for men ages 15-44, and the second highest for all men. Effective treatments exist, but services are frequently fragmented and, as with general health care, there are barriers that prevent many from receiving these treatments as designed or at all. The consequences of this are seriousâ€"for these individuals and their families; their employers and the workforce; for the nation's economy; as well as the education, welfare, and justice systems. Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions examines the distinctive characteristics of health care for mental and substance-use conditions, including payment, benefit coverage, and regulatory issues, as well as health care organization and delivery issues. This new volume in the Quality Chasm series puts forth an agenda for improving the quality of this care based on this analysis. Patients and their families, primary health care providers, specialty mental health and substance-use treatment providers, health care organizations, health plans, purchasers of group health care, and all involved in health care for mental and substanceâ€"use conditions will benefit from this guide to achieving better care.

Combating Tobacco Use in Military and Veteran Populations

Combating Tobacco Use in Military and Veteran Populations PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309146844
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 381

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Book Description
The health and economic costs of tobacco use in military and veteran populations are high. In 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) make recommendations on how to reduce tobacco initiation and encourage cessation in both military and veteran populations. In its 2009 report, Combating Tobacco in Military and Veteran Populations, the authoring committee concludes that to prevent tobacco initiation and encourage cessation, both DoD and VA should implement comprehensive tobacco-control programs.

Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents, and Survivors

Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents, and Survivors PDF Author: US Department of Veterans Affairs
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1629149462
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description
Veterans of the United States armed forces may be eligible for a broad range of benefits and services provided by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). If you’re looking for information on these benefits and services, look no further than the newest edition of Federal Benefits for Veterans, Dependents, and Survivors. The VA operates the nation’s largest health-care system, with more than 1,700 care sites available across the country. These sites include hospitals, community clinics, readjustment counseling centers, and more. In this book, those who have honorably served in the active military, naval, or air service will learn about the services offered at these sites, basic eligibility for health care, and more. Helpful topics described in depth throughout these pages for veterans, their dependents, and their survivors include: Vocational rehabilitation and employment VA pensions Home loan guaranty Burial and memorial benefits Transition assistance Dependents and survivors health care and benefits Military medals and records And more

Veteran Psychiatry in the US

Veteran Psychiatry in the US PDF Author: Elspeth Cameron Ritchie
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030053849
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
This volume explores the unique psychiatric needs of active and former military personnel and offers clinical pearls for the optimal delivery of care for these individuals. Written by experts in military and veteran psychiatry, this book addresses the most common issues in military and veteran patients, including depression, traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder, homelessness, and suicidality. Chapters highlight the characteristics of veterans suffering from each disorder that requires special treatment, making it a valuable resource for both military and civilian clinicians. Veteran Psychiatry in the US is a valuable resource for all mental health clinicians working with or seeking to work with veterans, including psychiatrists, neurologists, primary care physicians, psychologists, counselors, social workers, nurses, residents, and all others.