Nursing Perspective: Mental Health Support for Military Veterans

This report examines the mental health challenges faced by military veterans in Australia, focusing on the high prevalence of mental disorders such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression. It highlights the increased suicide rates among ex-service men and discusses the need for effective interventions. The report proposes psychological interventions, such as mindfulness techniques and motivational interviewing, as potential solutions, outlining a PICOT statement to evaluate their effectiveness. A literature review supports the use of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in reducing suicide risk and improving the quality of life for veterans. The intervention aligns with veteran-specific policies and promotes mental health by building resilience and supporting recovery, while also addressing health equity principles and social determinants affecting mental health. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of personalized, person-centered approaches to support the mental well-being of military veterans.

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

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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

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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 by Kline et al.
(2016) shows that mindfulness based cognitive therapy can reduce suicide risk in veterans with

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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
and activating coping strategies in target individual. Another advantage of proposing
psychological interventions like CBT and mindfulness to military veteran is that these
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 by Khusid 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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References:
Australian Government (2019). Veteran Mental Health Strategy A TEN YEAR FRAMEWORK
2013 – 2023. Retrieved from:
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.