A seminal national study by the RAND Corporation on the Invisible Wounds of War indicated that approximately twenty percent of the US servicemen and women returning from Afghanistan and Iraq showed signs of mental health disorders, post-traumatic stress, and traumatic brain injuries. As a result, such populations are prone to instances of committing suicide daily ( Olenick, Flowers, & Diaz, 2015 ). Therefore, mental health practitioners in particular and advocates must identify the need and make themselves versed with such patient’s military history, to identify the suicidal-risk factors. However, I will delve in two types of Health needs that such populations and their loved ones need, how I would advocate for their needs, the type of advocacy skills I would need and how to develop them, and finally, the responsibility I have as a nurse advocate.
Most of the US veteran population is characterized by mental health disorder, with an approximate 30 percent diagnosed with the disorder. These populations are negatively influenced because of the behavioral adjustment and the experiences they encountered in the war eras. First, Substance Use Disorders (SUD) exposes them, increasing their risk of engaging in tobacco, drugs, and alcohol-related activities. As such, the veterans have an increased rate of developing mental health diseases such as depression, manic-depressive disorder, and alcohol-related problems that lead to suicidal risk ( Chakhssi et al., 2018 ). Therefore, identifying and treating mental health illness has the possibility of mitigating suicide risk. Second, most of the veterans experience combat fatigue, which results in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to their traumatic experiences. Traumatic brain injuries (TBI), Military sexual trauma (MST) are the basic causes of PTSD ( Chakhssi et al., 2018 ). Mental health providers are supposed to make a comprehensive assessment of the psychiatrist disorders to have therapy treatment such as family therapy, psychotherapy, and prolonged exposure therapy, social support, and administering antidepressants.
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To advocate for the needs of the veterans and their families because of their special health care needs, mental healthcare professionals can play a significant role in mitigating the public health consequences of war. The objective is to enhance access to high-quality mental health services among veterans as a way to enhance the American Public Health Association (APHA) ( American Public Health Association, 2014 ). Most importantly, I would push for the agenda that the returning veterans, who exhibited behavior that earned them an Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharge, be offered access to care, which would come in handy to help them modify their behaviors easily. In this regard, the essentiality is to ensure that most mentally ill individuals, who may be at risk of harming the public and themselves because of their inability to access treatment ( Chakhssi et al., 2018 ). Another concern is to ensure that veterans are helped curb an aftermath emerging problem referred to as the “moral injury.” The implication is that most of the veterans will always have difficulties in making prudent decisions when reacting to non-combatants. Such situations negatively impact them with lasting psychological, social, and behavioral consequences, which may result in problems that mimic the PTSD. However, the difficulty arises when such problems are not treatable the same way. In this regard, I would emphasize on the need for the US federal government to push for the removal of discharge status as a precondition before veterans are offered mental health service eligibility ( American Public Health Association, 2014 ). Lastly, I would also push for the reforms to enhance the number of mental health professionals to enhance adequacy. The aim is ensuring that before the veterans come home, they undergo a positive screening of the PTSD to receive mental health care.
There is a growing demand for mental health nurses to acquire the knowledge and skills that support veteran patients, to enhance their human rights as persons with mental disorders. The aim is to ensure that as mental nurse practitioners, we reduce the effects of stigma and discrimination to change the structural and attitudinal barriers, which may hinder positive mental health outcomes ( Olenick, Flowers, & Diaz, 2015 ). Therefore, appropriate education and know-how are needed to navigate the healthcare environment. Hence, acquisition of the knowledge on the veteran rights and their health care system is the first set of skill I require. Besides, I would need to have excellent communication skills and collaborative skills that will form a formidable healthcare team that improves the quality of life of veterans with mental health issues.
My responsibility as an advocate is to ensure that health service psychologists provide appropriate mental and behavioral healthcare services, so that assessment, screening, counseling, and treatment, is done. Through a collaborative approach, practice-based research that improves outcomes will be a consideration. Also, evidence-based practice that is patient-centred, effective, culturally competent, will be a focus as my responsibility to enhance success in providing service members with emotional support, assisting them with reintegration into the society, and motivating them.
References
American Public Health Association. (2014). Removing barriers to mental health services for veterans. Policy , 201411 .
Chakhssi, F., Kraiss, J. T., Sommers-Spijkerman, M., & Bohlmeijer, E. T. (2018). The effect of positive psychology interventions on well-being and distress in clinical samples with psychiatric or somatic disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC psychiatry , 18 (1), 211.
Olenick, M., Flowers, M., & Diaz, V. J. (2015). US veterans and their unique issues: enhancing health care professional awareness. Advances in medical education and practice , 6 , 635.
