scholarly journals What's so special about military veterans?

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 81-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Greenberg

The mental health of military veterans has been, and continues to be, a topic of heated political and journalistic debate. There is a well-documented impact of conflict upon the mental health of service personnel, and most nations have aimed to provide effective care for individuals who have fought for their country. However, as the three thematic papers in this issue demonstrate, the realities of service-related mental health are rather more complex than they initially appear.

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin T. McDaniel ◽  
Kate H. Thomas ◽  
David L. Albright ◽  
Kari L. Fletcher ◽  
Margaret M. Shields

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Rhead ◽  
Deirdre MacManus ◽  
Margaret Jones ◽  
Neil Greenberg ◽  
Nicola T. Fear ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
Melanie L. Hill ◽  
Brandon Nichter ◽  
Peter J. Na ◽  
Sonya B. Norman ◽  
Leslie A. Morland ◽  
...  

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth K Jaworski ◽  
Katherine Taylor ◽  
Kelly M Ramsey ◽  
Adrienne J Heinz ◽  
Sarah Steinmetz ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Although the pandemic has not led to a uniform increase of mental health concerns among older adults, there is evidence to suggest that some older veterans did experience an exacerbation of pre-existing mental health conditions, and that mental health difficulties were associated with a lack of social support and increasing numbers of pandemic-related stressors. Mobile mental health apps are scalable, may be a helpful resource for managing stress during the pandemic and beyond, and could potentially provide services that are not accessible due to the pandemic. However, overall comfort with mobile devices and factors influencing the uptake and usage of mobile apps during the pandemic among older veterans are not well known. COVID Coach is a free, evidence-informed mobile app designed for pandemic-related stress. Public usage data have been evaluated, but its uptake and usage among older veterans has not been explored. OBJECTIVE The purpose of the current study was to characterize smartphone ownership rates among U.S. veterans, identify veteran characteristics associated with downloading and use of COVID Coach, and characterize key content usage within the app. METHODS Data were analyzed from the 2019-2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study (NHRVS), which surveyed a nationally representative, prospective cohort of 3,078 U.S. military veterans before and one year into the pandemic. The NHRVS sample was drawn from KnowledgePanel®, a research panel of more than 50,000 households maintained by Ipsos, Inc. Median time to complete the survey was nearly 32 minutes. The research version of COVID Coach was offered to all veterans who completed the peri-pandemic follow-up assessment on a mobile device (n = 814; weighted 34.2% of total sample). App usage data from all respondents who downloaded the app (n = 34; weighted 3.3% of the mobile completers sample) were collected between November 14, 2020 and November 7, 2021. RESULTS We found that most U.S. veterans own smartphones and veterans with higher education, greater number of adverse childhood experiences, higher extraversion, and greater severity of pandemic-related PTSD symptoms were more likely to download COVID Coach. Although uptake and usage of COVID Coach was relatively low (3.3% of eligible participants, n = 34), 50% of the participants returned to the app for more than one day of use. The interactive tools for managing stress were used most frequently. CONCLUSIONS Although the coronavirus pandemic has increased the need for and creation of digital mental health tools, these resources may require tailoring for older veteran populations. Future research is needed to better understand how to optimize digital mental health tools, such as apps, to ensure uptake and usage among older adults, particularly those who have experienced traumas across the lifespan.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105382592110495
Author(s):  
Joanna Ellen Bettmann ◽  
Ileana Anderson ◽  
Joe Makouske ◽  
Adam Hanley

Background: Skepticism of therapy and stigma are significant barriers for veterans with mental health issues. Therapeutic adventure shows promise in addressing veterans’ mental health needs while circumventing the stigma many veterans face in initiating treatment. Purpose: Given the small group model of therapeutic adventure programs, such programs may be ideal to provide social support for veterans and reduce mental health symptomology. The present study investigated: can a brief peer-led therapeutic adventure program modify veterans’ mental health symptoms? Methodology/Approach: The study's sample included 56 participants attending one Sierra Club Military Outdoors trip lasting at least three days and two nights and involving camping. Participants completed study measurements assessing depression, anxiety, stress, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms, substance misuse symptoms, and suicidality at pre-trip, post-trip, one-month post trip, six-months post trip, and 12-months post trip. Six-month and 12-month post-trip data was collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings/Conclusions: Results indicated significant reduction in mental health symptomology from pre-trip to post-trip, but showed few longer-term changes in mental health symptomology. Implications: The present study's findings are consistent with research suggesting improvements in overall psychological well-being immediately following a nature-based intervention and suggest the need for on-going, community-based interventions to support optimally military veterans’ mental health.


2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (10) ◽  
pp. e21
Author(s):  
Marc A. Silva ◽  
Kristina M. Martinez ◽  
Margaret Schmitt ◽  
Courtney Lynn ◽  
Christina (Tina) Dillahunt-Aspillaga ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S603-S603 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Attoe ◽  
M. Fisher ◽  
A. Vishwas ◽  
S. Cross

IntroductionUK healthcare policy has highlighted a shift in mental health services from hospital to community, stressing the importance of training for professions not traditionally associated with healthcare. Recommendations have been made to introduce training for the police force designed with experts. Similarly, the value of further training for ambulance clinicians in assessing mental health, capacity, and understanding legislation has been highlighted.AimsTo investigate the effect of simulation training on the confidence, knowledge, and human factors skills of police and ambulance service personnel in working with people experiencing mental health conditions.MethodsOn completion of data collection from 14 training courses, approximately 90 police and 90 ambulance personnel (n = 180) will have completed the human factors skills for healthcare instrument, confidence and knowledge self-report measures, and post-course qualitative evaluation forms. A version of the hfshi for non-clinical professions will hopefully be validated following data collection. Results will also be compared by profession.ResultsAnalyses have not been fully completed, although preliminary statistical analyses demonstrate promising findings, with increases post-course for human factors skills, confidence and knowledge. Furthermore, qualitative feedback initially illustrates valuable learning outcomes and interesting findings from comparisons by professions.ConclusionsMental health simulation training appears to have a promising impact on the confidence, knowledge, and human factors skills of police and ambulance personnel for working with people experiencing mental health conditions.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.


2009 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven L. Sayers ◽  
Victoria A. Farrow ◽  
Jennifer Ross ◽  
David W. Oslin

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