Two types of health needs for returning veterans
Top of Form Dedicating your life to your country is one of the most selfless acts an individual could do. There are five branches of the military, they include; Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guards. “The armed service’s core values are honor, integrity, courage, commitment, respect and service before self.” (Substance Abuse and Health Services Administration, 2010). Veterans have become the most uninsured, underinsured and most likely homeless people in the United Stated. (Dayton, Hess, & Jackonis, 2008). War can be a traumatic experience, in my experience when caring for veterans, there are often mental health issues including substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, sexual assault trauma and financial issues. “The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States and provides public-sector care for honorably discharged veterans of the United States.” (Oliver, 2007) however; there are still thousands of veterans that are not receiving adequate care. Two types of health needs for returning veteransdiv style #button { background-color: #F05A1A; border: 5px; border-radius: 5px; color: white; padding: 5px 5px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; display: inline-block; font-size: 13px; margin: 4px 2px; cursor: pointer; } /style div class=’alert alert-success’ h3Save your time – order a paper!/h3 p style=’font-size: 16px;’Get your paper written from scratch within the tight deadline. Our service is a reliable solution to all your troubles. Place an order on any task and we will take care of it. You won’t have to worry about the quality and deadlines a href=’/order’ id=’button’Order Paper Now/a /div/div Two types of health needs that would benefit veterans and their families includes mental health counselling and employment services. According to Hester, (2017) mental health disparities is the leading cause of high suicide rates when it comes to veterans. Mental health services does not seem to currently be at the forefront for healthcare concerns, in a country that seems to often in some type of turmoil/wars with other countries there should be better healthcare access available to the brave men and women who put their lives on the line so we can have the freedom we so desire. In 2007 41% of VA visits were for mental health related services, these statistics proves that mental health is an important issue to veteran’s well-being. Counselling should also be offered to the families of veterans, families need to get help to understand what adjustments may need to be made in order to deal with their loved one’s coming home, helping each party learn to support each other may aid in the veterans not feeling unsupported and alone. Lack of employment is also an important issue that veterans experience, many veterans return home disabled, this puts them at a disadvantage when applying for jobs. Unemployment leads to depression, homelessness and at times addiction. There are veterans that joined the armed services right out of high school and did not receive sufficient education to have gainful employment once they return home. There is a need for programs that provide employment assistance, resume building and also skills-based training, this will help to ease the financial burden and increase feelings of self-worth. Advocacy As nurses, often we hear the term advocacy, we’ve all taken an oath to cause no further harm and promote advocacy for our patients. “Successful advocacy requires compassion, courage and commitment to caring for and empower clients and colleagues.” (Begley, 2010). Patient’s with mental health issues are often the ones that get lost in the system, the healthcare system can be hard to navigate and having someone to help the patient make informed decisions about their health is very important. Although veteran care is available, there are often long wait times for appointments and exclusions for care. According to the Department of Veterans Affair, some exclusions include healthcare memberships, gender altercation, abortions and abortion counseling, in-vitro fertilization, inpatient or outpatient care of a veteran that is a patient or an inmate in an institution of another government agency. Nurses are a voice for vulnerable patients, becoming more educated on veteran issues will assist in providing appropriate care, education can include continuing education modules, volunteering with veteran specific groups of also with immediate family members of veterans. Reference Deyton, L., Hess, W. J., & Jackonis, M. J. (2008, Winter). War, its aftermath, and U.S. health policy: Toward a comprehensive health program for America’s military personnel, veterans, and their families.em Journal of Law, Medicine, & Ethics, 36(4)/em, 677–689. Hester R. D. (2017). Lack of access to mental health services contributing to the high suicide rates among veterans. emInternational journal of mental health systems/em, em11/em, 47. doi:10.1186/s13033-017-0154-2 Oliver A. (2007). The Veterans Health Administration: an American success story?. emThe Milbank quarterly/em, em85/em(1), 5-35. Understanding the Military: The Institution, the Culture and the People. (2010). Retrieved January 15, 2019, from https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/military_white_paper_final.pdf U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (n.d.). emHeath Benefits. /emR