6301wk 6 assgn

Mental Health & Military Veterans   

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Towards Better Mental Health for Military Veterans

Master of Social Work, Walden University

SOCW 6301: Social Work Practice Research 1

Mental Health & Military Veterans   

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the variables that affect the outcome of successful

mental health treatment in military veterans. This paper seeks to answer the research question,

To what extent do military veterans find the mental health services offered by the Veteran’s

Health administration useful? Ultimately, the goal of this study is to determine whether mental

health services for veterans are adequate to meet the needs of the clients.

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Introduction

Every day in the United States there are 132 suicides. Of this number, military veterans

represent more than 15% at 21 per day (Warren & Smithkors, 2020). Although this percentage

overall seems small, it represents a large portion of the American population struggling with

suicidal ideation who need appropriate mental health services. When examined from this

perspective, it becomes clear why United States military veterans struggle more so than the

general population. With a majority of veterans seeking mental health services through the

Veteran’s Health Administration, it becomes imperative that these services are adequate in terms

of staffing and skill to address an issue that affects 41% of those who serve (Warren &

Smithkors, 2020). The Veteran’s Health Administration should allow veterans seeking mental

health services to seek privatized care to relieve the burden on the Veteran’s Health system and

receive adequate treatment from outside professionals.

Review of Literature

Risk factors of suicide in military veterans. The prevalence of suicide among veterans is

generally seen with pre-existing issues being exacerbated by combat and other socioeconomic

factors that affect their quality of life post-service. Adverse childhood experiences, substance

abuse, and low income were seen as the three most identified factors among those who

committed suicides (Nichter et al., 2021). In a study conducted on 2268 Iraq/Afghanistan era

veterans, over 48% of those who suffered from suicidal ideation admitted to having various

adverse childhood experiences that were compounded by military service (Brancu et al., 2021).

Systemic Issues. Military veterans rely on the Veteran’s Health system for a wide variety

of health care for the simple fact that it is cost-free. However, closer examination shows various

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systemic shortfalls that are widely due to programs being understaffed, underequipped, and ill-

trained (Warren & Smithkors, 2020). Namely, the mental health services offered by the VA often

have the most inadequacies. In addition to a program that faces various staff issues, the VA itself

continues to implement policies that add fuel to the fire. An example of this is a zero-suicide goal

implemented in 2020 that placed a severe strain among the mental health professionals inside the

VA that then had to negotiate time constraints with their clients that resulted in failing

client/provider relationships (Warren & Smithkors, 2020). Further, The VA system places a

focus on providing treatment for those who come to them. With a VA services-only framework,

rural veterans who lack the ability to travel often face a worse situation. Of veteran suicide, rural

veterans account for roughly 14.3% of veteran suicide (Monteith et al., 2020).

Adequate Program Implementation. The most popular program that has been

implemented by the VA is that of peer group support which in turn creates relationship support

among veterans (Baker et al., 2021). However, studies have shown that this gold standard does

little to enforce treatment as it does to simply create a support system. In the private sector,

mental health services rely on individual support and treatment that focuses on an occupational

safety type of control (Baker et al., 2021). This treatment perspective focuses on the control and

removal of variables that create suicidal ideation (Baker et al., 2021).

Another important topic of discussion relates directly to the most at-risk subgroup of

veterans; rural veterans. With the VA offering services to those that can be physically present,

rural veterans need to see program implementation with a community-based perspective

(Monteith et al., 2021). That is, local, community-based groups that can offer support and

resources to those rural veterans who lack the education, income, and other socioeconomic

factors to seek privatized care (Monteith et al., 2021).

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Change, Refine & Focus

My research is focused on an issue that is affected by many diverse factors for which it is

difficult to determine into which direction to focus the actual research. Because of this difficulty,

I would like to adjust my research question as follows, “Do military veterans seeking private-

sector mental health services receive better treatment than those who only receive treatment

within the Veteran’s Health system?” This re-focusing will better enable me to explore my

question with both qualitative and quantitative-based research methods, a mixed methods

approach. I would want to find articles that address the statistical quantitative differences for

those who have sought private treatment compared to those who have not, as well as use focus

groups with those who have sought private treatment compared to those who have not. IT would

allow me to more distinctly find out if – and if so why – a difference is occurring.

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References

Baker, J. C., Bryan, C. J., Bryan, A. O., & Button, C. J. (2021). The airman’s edge project: A

peer-based, injury prevention approach to preventing military suicide. International Journal

of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(6). https://doi-

org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.3390/ijerph18063153

Brancu, M., Beckham, J. C., Calhoun, P. S., Dedert, E., Elbogen, E. B., Fairbank, J. A., Hurley,

R. A., Kilts, J. D., Kimbrel, N. A., Kirby, A., Marx, C. E., McDonald, S. D., Moore, S. D.,

Morey, R. A., Naylor, J. C., Rowland, J., Shura, R., Swinkels, C., Szabo, S. T., … Dillon, K.

H. (2021). A network analysis of risk factors for suicide in Iraq/Afghanistan-era

veterans. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 138, 264–271. https://doi-

org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.03.065

Monteith, L. L., Wendleton, L., Bahraini, N. H., Matarazzo, B. B., Brimner, G., & Mohatt, N. V.

(2020). Together with veterans: VA National Strategy Alignment and lessons learned

from community-based suicide prevention for rural veterans. Suicide & Life-Threatening

Behavior, 50(3), 588–600. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1111/sltb.12613

Nichter, B., Monteith, L. L., Norman, S. B., Maguen, S., Hill, M. L., Herzog, S., & Pietrzak, R.

H. (2021). Differentiating U.S. military veterans who think about suicide from those who

attempt suicide: A population-based study. General Hospital Psychiatry, 72, 117–123.

https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2021.08.007

Mark B. Warren, M. D., & Leigh A. Smithkors, P. D. (2020). Suicide Prevention in the U.S.

Department of Veterans Affairs: Using the evidence without losing the

narrative. Psychiatric Services, 71(4), 398–400. https://doi-

org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201900482