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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:48 am
Time: 11:48 am
Results for military veterans (u.s.)
2 results foundAuthor: U.S. Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health Title: An Achievable Vision: Report of the Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health Summary: The costs of military service are substantial. Many costs are readily apparent; others are less apparent but no less important. Among the most pervasive and potentially disabling consequences of these costs is the threat to the psychological health of our nation’s fighting forces, their families, and their survivors. Our involvement in the Global War on Terrorism has created unforeseen demands not only on individual military service members and their families, but also on the Department of Defense itself, which must expand its capabilities to support the psychological health of its service members and their families. In particular, the system is being challenged by emergence of two “signature injuries” from the current conflict – posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. These two injuries often coincide, requiring integrated and interdisciplinary treatment methods. New demands have exposed shortfalls in a health care system that in previous decades had been oriented away from a wartime focus. Staffing levels were poorly matched to the high operational tempo even prior to the current conflict, and the system has become even more strained by the increased deployment of active duty providers with mental health expertise. As such, the system of care for psychological health that has evolved over recent decades is insufficient to meet the needs of today’s forces and their beneficiaries, and will not be sufficient to meet their needs in the future. Changes in the military mental health system and military medicine more generally, have mirrored trends in the landscape of American healthcare toward acute, short-term treatment models that may not provide optimal management of psychological disorders that tend to be more chronic in nature. As in the civilian sector, military mental health practices tend to emphasize identification and treatment of specific disorders over preventing and treating illness, enhancing coping, and maximizing resilience. Emerging lessons from recent deployments have raised questions about the adequacy of this orientation, not only for treating psychological disorders, but also for achieving the goal of a healthy and resilient force. The challenges are enormous and the consequences of non-performance are significant. Data from the Post- Deployment Health Re-Assessment, which is administered to service members 90 to 120 days after returning from deployment, indicate that 38 percent of Soldiers and 31 percent of Marines report psychological symptoms. Among members of the National Guard, the figure rises to 49 percent (U.S. Air Force, 2007; U.S. Army, 2007; U.S. Navy, 2007). Further, psychological concerns are significantly higher among those with repeated deployments, a rapidly growing cohort. Psychological concerns among family members of deployed and returning Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans, while yet to be fully quantified, are also an issue of concern. Hundreds of thousands of children have experienced the deployment of a parent. Details: Falls Church, VA: Defense Health Board, 2007. 100p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 6, 2013 at: http://www.health.mil/dhb/mhtf/mhtf-report-final.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: http://www.health.mil/dhb/mhtf/mhtf-report-final.pdf Shelf Number: 128316 Keywords: Mental HealthMental Health ServicesMilitary Veterans (U.S.)Posttraumatic Stress Syndrome |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: No Time to Waste: Evidence-Based Treatment for Drug Dependence at the United States Veterans Administration Summary: This briefing paper examines the response of the Veterans Administration to veterans struggling with drug and alcohol dependence, highlighting three programs that use evidence-based models to prevent overdose, treat opioid dependence and end chronic homelessness. These approaches incorporate harm reduction principles that "meet veterans where they are" - providing services along a spectrum to help veterans reduce the negative consequences of drug misuse including the harm of infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. Continued support for these programs is critically important, both within the Veterans Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and in the form of essential funding from the United States Congress. Human Rights Watch research indicates: - Expanding veterans' access to naloxone is critical to saving lives from overdose; - Medication-assisted therapy is an effective treatment for opioid dependence that should be accessible to greater numbers of veterans; - Focusing on "Housing First" gives veterans a chance to stabilize and rebuild their lives. The Veterans Administration has adopted evidence-based models because they are effective. But implementing evidence-based responses to drug dependence is a matter of human rights as well as public health. These are principles that apply to all people regardless of whether they have served in the nation's military. The VA provides the three models highlighted here to veterans, but they are essential for all who are drug dependent and may be at risk of overdose, in need of treatment or without a home. By expanding and sustaining these programs the Veterans Administration can set a precedent that ultimately could be a significant contribution to protecting the right to health not only for veterans but for all Americans. Details: New York: HRW, 2014. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 23, 2014 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/us0614_vets_ForUpload.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/us0614_vets_ForUpload.pdf Shelf Number: 133392 Keywords: Drug Abuse and AddictionDrug Abuse TreatmentMilitary Veterans (U.S.)Substance Abuse Treatment |