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Comprehensive Care for the OEF and OIF Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Ashlie Burnett

Capella University

3/1/2015

Introduction

Research Questions

1. How can we improve the quality of comprehensive health care for the OEF and OIF with posttraumatic stress disorder to ensure efficiency?

2. To what extent do the available care services meet the demand of OEF and OIF veterans with posttraumatic disorders?

3. To what extent does cases of OEF and OIF veterans with posttraumatic disorder affects the livelihood of families of the victims?

Research Objectives

1. The general objective of this research was to determine how efficiently quality of comprehensive care be improved to ensure quality care to the OEF and OIF with posttraumatic stress disorder.

2. The paper also sought to determine the extent to which the available health care services meet the varied demands of OEF and OIF veterans with posttraumatic disorders?

3. Finally, the report seeks to determine how cases of OEF and OIF veterans with posttraumatic disorder affect the families involved.

Sub-related questions

1. What are the most common PTSD results facing the war veteran’s over the world?

2. What are the governments funded medical services available for the victims of posttraumatic disorders?

3. What are the main technical and economical inefficiencies the veterans face in seeking medical care?

Relevance of the Sub-related questions

The sub-related questions constitute the actual roots needed in making informed recommendations need to improve quality of health care for the PTSD veterans. In effectively improving quality of health care for the victims of posttraumatic disorder, the first question will help find the main sources of posttraumatic stress disorder among the veterans. Knowing these causes will help in making recommendations for designing a more effective comprehensive health care package. The second sub-related question on the other hand will help assessing the role of government in curbing posttraumatic disorder among the veterans. The second last question will therefore help address funding setbacks in providing care services to the PTSD veterans. Finally, the last sub-related question will assist in pointing the technical and economical inefficiencies faced by PSTD veterans in a bid to get better comprehensive health care services. Knowledge of these inefficiencies will help the researcher to propose informed recommendations as per the solutions to the challenges.

Important Information about the Issue and Types of Data to be collected

Before making recommendations on how to improve the quality of comprehensive care available for the PTSD victims, the researcher must understand the causes of challenges facing these veterans. It is important to have a sound knowledge of these causes, the ratio of patients to qualified health personnel in this sector and funding option for these services. The researcher then will collect data, which will mostly be made up of experiences and awareness of the victims and health officials. The research will also seek views of various stakeholders on efficiency of medical to the PTSD veterans. Finally yet importantly, the researcher will collect records of relevant institution that will be analyzed qualitatively.

Action Plan

This research paper foresee a future in which medical programs for PTSD victims offer the best possible financial and technical options to those who had sacrificed their comfort to serve this great nation. Proposed recommendations for the programs must enable OIF/OEF veterans to have efficient access to affordable health care services, psychological support, mental counseling and at the same time take in considerations associated with the veterans. In order to to see this dream come true, I will work the government and involve other relevant stakeholders in order to implement the recommendations promptly.

Literature Review

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) refers a psychological response to a traumatic a past experience (Resnik, 2011). Diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder has for long time proved more difficult. Posttraumatic stress reflects itself in three different levels of symptoms (Creswell, 1994). The first level of these symptoms is called re-experiencing. Re-experiencing involves continuous nightmares associated with the traumatic event. The second category of symptoms is called avoidance where the victims tend to avoid conversation about the traumatic event (Jasper, 2009). The final category is known as arousal where the victims have trouble in sleeping. It is important to note however, that medical attention is only advisable when the symptoms persist for at least a month. The symptoms must also show signs of clinically significant distress or simply impairment in functioning.

Prevalence of PTSD among OEF/OIF Veterans Using VA Health Care

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), prevalence of PTSD among users of its health care stands at 29% (Department of VA, 2010). Findings of VA are however are subject to acknowledging that the figures presented by VA may be overstated, understated and finally that the numbers provided by the VA should not be extrapolated to all OEF/OIF veterans (Jasper, 2009). The last limitation is because the OEF/OIF using VA health care do not necessarily represent all OEF/OIF veterans or the wider family of the veterans. The VA prevalence data is as provided in figure 1 below.

Figure 1: percentile PTSD prevalence among veteran using VA health care.

It however important to note that general information about PTSD prevalence, not limited to users of VA health care, shows a sizeable variance. For example a 2010 RAND analysis by Institute of Medicine indicates that PTSD prevalence lies within the range of 1% to 60% among OEF/OIF service members (Department of VA, 2009). In 2012, the same institution found out that recent estimates of PTSD prevalence among OEF/OIF service members and veterans varies within a range of 13% to 20% (Department of VA, 2008).

PTSD Treatment policies as provided by VA Health Care System.

Provisions of VA Health Care System mandate all veterans who have never be attended for there before to start by receiving a PTSD screening (VA office of public health, 2010). This screening process is conducted yearly for the first five years and then same procedure is repeated in the next five years thereafter. An exception is taken only when there is a sign of clinical need to screening earlier. VA health care system also provides that any referred patient or new case be given an initial assessment within 24 hours and a full check-up within a period of fourteen days (Creswell, 1994).

Research Plan

According to researcher-foreseen future, this paper will only be successful will with full implementation of its recommendation in improving quality of health care by the Department of the Veterans Affairs. I will randomly sample my target audience, both the OEF/OIF veterans and health officials. All these data will baseline data. To make well-founded recommendations, I will further collect data on the victims’ knowledge and attitude of various health care services, skills of health officials and the victims’ level of satisfaction with the current state of medical care. For a check on success of the paper’s intervention, I will analyze the baseline data by comparing what was happening before the implementation of the program and what happens after. Instead of using baseline data, the research could have gathered the data need by collecting raw data from past and present victims. In collecting the raw data, the study would have applied tools of data collection, which include questionnaires, interviews or actual observation in medical facilities offering services to victims of PTSD.

Ethical Consideration

Given that this study involves people who have gone through many difficult moments, I will adhere to strict ethical considerations in order not to hurt this emotionally vulnerable population. In order to respect opinions of my sample patient I will distribute consent form to the identified individual before conducting the research. The consent form will require the victims to fill their national identity number, official names, and signature to show that they accept to be part of the study. The study will refrain from tackling potential ethical concerns such as mention names or those of family and asking questions deemed personal will, therefore, be treated as delicate as they deserve. Data collected will also not be used for any other reason apart from compiling the research.

Data Analysis

This will help me review the gathered data and make inferences or determination from the information. The paper will employ both quantitative analysis techniques, exploratory data analysis and confirmatory data analysis. After collecting the data, will then perform a regression and analysis to get the real picture of the situation. The project will also analyze its data through graphs, pie charts and tables. To check the relationship between PTSD and other diseases such as hyper tension the study will carry out a correlation analysis of the data collected. The technique of data collection will include questionnaires, interviews and observation of the actual happenings within the medical facilities.

Projects Evaluation.

To assess whether the project is successful or not, I will reassess the baseline data by comparing what was happening before the implementation of the program and what happens after. The data collected must be in line with the research questions and any other data outside the scope of the paper will be considered null and void. I will, therefore, asses if the research question and objectives are met by checking the relevance of the data collected, biasness in data presentation and correct interpretation of the regression rations.

Roles of Key Stake holders

The research will involve OEF/OIF veterans, managements of various medical institution, medical staffs, families of the veterans and government officials at the ministry of health. OEF/OIF veterans will help give us the immediate picture of what they go through after a service to the nation. Managements of the various medical institution on the other hand will help us acquire the available data on medical records pertaining to PTSD. To get a clear insight of what the families of the victims feel, we will interview the families on any proposal they think should be added to ensure better care services. Last but not least government officials at the ministry of health will provide data on government’s contribution on PTSD care and any proposal of what they think should be done.

Dissemination Plan

The whole study will be done through various stages or milestone as given in the sheet below.

Management Plan Task Worksheet

The Budget

References

Creswell, J. W. (1994). Research Design: Qualitative & Quantitative Approaches. New York, SAGE Publications.

Jasper, M. (2009). Veterans' rights and benefits. New York: Oceana.

Resnik, D. B. (2011). What is ethics in research and why is it important? New York: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

VA Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards. (February, 2010). Analysis of VA health care utilization among Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans. Washington, DC: Author.

[CATEGORY NAME] [PERCENTAGE]

PTSD No PTSD 0.2900000000000002 0.71000000000000041