Psychological Intervention for Depression and PTSD among Military Veterans

Running head: NURSING
Nursing
Name of the student:
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Author’s note

1NURSING
Population demographics and health concerns:
Military veterans are those who were deployed to serve in war zones. In Australia, former
Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnels are regarded as military veterans. According to the
2016-2017 statistics, 58, 200 people or 0.3% of the national population has served in the ADF.
1.6% of the Australian population or 3, 20, 000 veterans have been deployed. The 2014-2015
National Health Survey of the military veterans revealed that one in every five people in the
ADF has experienced mental disorder in the past one year. Another alarming statistics was that
in contrast to lower rate of suicide in men serving full time in the army, the suicide rate for ex-
service men has been found to be 1.2 times higher than rest of Australian men (Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018). Hence, from these statistics, it is understood that mental
illness is one major health concern for the military veteran population group.
As military veterans are exposed to continuous period of stress and traumatic events, they
are at high risk of mental health issues such as anxiety, post traumatic stress and depression. The
nature of service and the transition from military to civilian life lead to stress, anxiety and
vulnerability for some people. Due to such changes in the life and environment of military
veterans, they are exposed to chronic illness and many psychological health concerns. In
response to the high prevalence of mental illness in the Australian Defense Force (ADF), ADF
launched many initiatives to provide appropriate tools to promote mental health (Reed, Masters
& Roeger, 2016). This shows that regular update regarding epidemiological data on health of the
veterans pave the way for implementing innovative interventions to manage health of the
population. Military veterans who reorient into the society experience social isolation which
make them vulnerable to depression. Nursing science such as building partnership with patient