A Gap in Equity Related to Mental Health Access for Veterans

A Gap in Equity Related to Mental Health Access for Veterans The topic I have chosen for milestone one is the gap in equity related to mental health access for veterans. This topic hits close to home because not only do I have veteran friends and family, but also because so many of my patients are veterans and I can directly see the lack of healthcare they are able to access. With the United States constantly having troops overseas, the number of veterans who are returning home with PTSD and other mental health issues is not decreasing. Veterans return home after their service contacts end, and many of them are never the same. They risk their lives fighting for our liberties and to protect us, and they aren’t even provided with enough help to adjust from the mental trauma they have experienced and many of them turn to drugs or suicide. There is a huge difference in the mental healthcare access offered to veterans and the mental healthcare access offered to the general population. To have the healthcare reform that is so badly needed in the United States we have to focus on addressing these large gaps in equity. The gap in equity and the large differences in the healthcare provided to the population versus veterans is one of the main contributing factors in veteran suicide rate. (Hester 2017). According to the US Department of Veteran Affairs, the suicide risk among non-deployed veterans is 61% higher than the general population (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2015). There is certainly a lack of funding towards these services and that causes a lot of the problems we see, in addition to this, we have one of the largest militaries in the world, which in turn generates a larger veteran population in comparison to other nations. Historically there has always been a lack of access to mental healthcare for veterans. World War 1 veterans hardly had any way at all to cope with mental illness. Many veterans and enlisted personnel, instead of being treated, were studies and became research subjects for “shell shock” which is what is now referred to as PTSD. The department of Veteran Affairs established a research center to conduct studies related to neuropsychiatric disorders. This was really one of the first steps in even providing mental healthcare access at all. It wasn’t until 1989 that the VA created the National Center for PTSD. This was created to assist survivors of war who suffered from PTSD. While research being conducted is a step in the right direction, there is not enough action in getting assistance for these veterans. The gap in healthcare access however, continues to remain large, despite the years of research towards mental health programs. Veterans have to undergo long application processes to be approved for mental health access which discourages many of them from even trying. “The VA estimates 22,000 veterans with mental illnesses have received other-than-honorable discharges since 2009. They would all be ineligible for mentalhealth counseling through the VA.” (Suozzi, 2017). Socioeconomically veterans certainly aren’t the highest paid in the United States. After discharge, depending on how long they served and what rank they achieved, most are on the lower income side of the spectrum. The socioeconomic background of many servicemembers is the reason they joined the military in the first place. Many join the military straight of high school and therefore lack other job skills and education upon their return. With the addition of the stress of coping with civilian life and finding a new job, many Veterans can’t even find the time to even try to get help. This leads to mental disorders being left untreated and increase in Veteran homeless rates. The delivery of mental healthcare is severely affected by this gap. To begin with the percentage of patients getting diagnosed with depression in VA Primary care clinics is steadily increasing over the years. In may 18th of 2017 a veteran decided to take his car for a drive, he did this because he was feeling the need to clear his head and had no other source to turn to for his mental healthcare needs. During his drive his mental illness took over and he spun his car around into a large group of people, injuring 22 and killing one. This could have been avoided had he just been given the proper mental healthcare he needed (Suozzi, 2017). According to Souzzi, an average of 20 veterans commit suicide a day, and out of those 20, only 6 of them actually are able to use the mental healthcare provided to veterans. If this gap in equity of mental healthcare for veterans is not addressed, we are only going to see an increasing suicide rate, and most likely an increasing jobless and homeless rate for veterans. Not only suicide, but also homicide among former servicemen is becoming increasingly more common. Many of them have mental illness that, if left untreated, can cause them to go on a blind rampage against their own fellow Americans. These people who have protected us, now need protection for themselves. Increased suicide rates lead to an increase in single parent households. While these families are typically cared for, studies have shown that children from single parent households are at a disadvantage in life. The government and the VA need to work on improving easier access to health services for veterans, as well as high quality mental assistance programs. For too long, they have focused on providing the bare minimum to fulfill their standard and check another box off their list. These issues don’t just affect the veterans themselves, but everyone around them.