Psychological Intervention for Depression and PTSD among Military Veterans
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Added on  2023/04/23
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This article discusses the potential of psychological intervention in treating depression and PTSD among military veterans. It also proposes a PICOT statement and reviews relevant literature.
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Running head: NURSING Nursing Name of the student: Name of the University: Author’s note
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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
2NURSING and engaging the target population group to change may help in management of help of the target group. Potential solution for solving the problem and intended PICOT statement: Psychological intervention like mindfulness technique and motivational interviewing can be effective intervention to resolve the issue major depression and post traumatic stress among veterans. Psychological interventions are mainly behavioral intervention that helps in evaluation of thinking pattern of patient and encouragbg patient to adapt new health behavior. Hence, in response to the emergence of many psychological interventions for depression and post traumatic stress disorder, the intended PICOT statement can be as follows: P: Military veterans I: Psychological intervention C: no treatment O: reduction of symptoms of depression and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) T: one year Can psychological intervention help in the reduction of symptoms of depression and post traumatic stress disorder among military veterans within one year? Literature review: The review of research literature has revealed the potential of psychological intervention in treating depression and PTSD among military veterans. The research evidence byKline et al. (2016)shows that mindfulness based cognitive therapy can reduce suicide risk in veterans with
3NURSING depression and improve their quality of life. The utility of the intervention is realized as it is designed to engage patient in developing personalized plan to avoid development of suicide ideation. Hence, psychological intervention is an ideal solution to short term crisis management andactivatingcopingstrategiesintargetindividual.Anotheradvantageofproposing psychologicalinterventionslikeCBTandmindfulnesstomilitaryveteranisthatthese interventions incorporate health care equity principles and health policies to promote mental health of the target population group. This can be said because veteran specific policies like the Veteran Mental Health Strategy stated about improving mental health support for veterans by addressing their mental health needs and underpinning person-centered approach in action plan (Reed, Masters & Roeger, 2016). Similar to the above policy, the intervention incorporates the vision of the Veteran Mental Health Strategy by building resilience among veterans and supporting them in recovery (Australian Government, 2019). The research study byKhusid and Vythilingam (2016)shows that psychological intervention like mindfulness can support veterans by encouraging non-judgmental observation, promoting acceptance of negative thoughts and helping clients to avoid maladaptive patterns. Hence, the intervention can fulfill the vision of promoting mental health for veterans. They also incorporate health equity principle by entering into close conversation with clients and working to identify experience of disparities for them. The interventions can help identify effect social determinants on mental health. By identifying health inequalities, they work to implement intervention to help client address adverse factors and embrace positive health behavior (Brown, 2018).
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4NURSING References: Australian Government (2019). Veteran Mental Health Strategy A TEN YEAR FRAMEWORK 2013–2023.Retrievedfrom: https://www.dva.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/publications/health/Veteran%20Mental %20Health%20Strategy.pdf Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2018).Australia’s Health 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/5ba48a05-220f-43c9-b2e6-d7aa9485135f/aihw-aus- 221-chapter-5-6.pdf.aspx Brown, J. S. (2018). Increasing access to psychological treatments for adults by improving uptake and equity: rationale and lessons from the UK.International journal of mental health systems,12(1), 67. Khusid, M. A., & Vythilingam, M. (2016). The emerging role of mindfulness meditation as effective self-management strategy, part 1: clinical implications for depression, post- traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety.Military medicine,181(9), 961-968. Kline, A., Chesin, M., Latorre, M., Miller, R., Hill, L. S., Shcherbakov, A., ... & Interian, A. (2016). Rationale and study design of a trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for preventing suicidal behavior (MBCT-S) in military veterans.Contemporary clinical trials,50, 245-252. Reed, R. L., Masters, S., & Roeger, L. S. (2016). The Australian Defence force post-discharge GP health assessment.Australian family physician,45(3), 94.