SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH AMONG MILITARY PERSONNEL

I work in a military hospital.  US military personnel prefer not to seek immediate medical care if they experience an injury.  Only a minority of service members seek treatment for mental health problems and physical health problems.  This problem is significant to nursing practice because it is the nurse’s goal to improve health care delivery in the military setting.

It is important for the healthcare community to understand the reluctance by military personnel to seek treatment for mental and physical health problems.  Health care delivery should be adapted to emphasize what service members care about, which is their ability to manage the problems on their own.  The preference for handling problems oneself reflects the occupational culture’s emphasis on being resilient in the face of both mental and physical demands.  Physical injury could result in a non-deployable determination when being ready to deploy is considered a condition of service.  Service members also need to recognize when they can no longer manage problems on their own and need professional help.

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6 Responses

  1. clstein at |

    According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness (2020) 1 in 4 military personnel struggle with mental illness. The top 3 diagnosis for this group is PTSD, depression, and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Many resources are available for in person as well as resources for more of a discrete nature for those to call. You are very correct that many service members prefer to keep their struggles a secret or on the down low as they do not want to be characterized or labeled by those around them. It is important for those around to help support the physical and mental health of active duty as well as veterans as they have many struggles others could have trouble understanding. I know as a wife of a veteran he at times struggles with things I can not understand. When he first returned from his second deployment items at the side of the road made him flinch. In his sleep he would toss and turn and a loud noise would make him wake straight up in bed. We are lucky that is the only side effects of the trauma he endured but I know now everyone is as lucky. However, I know dealing with the VA can also be a challenge as the first thing they wanted to do was throw medication at him without any sort of therapy. They also tried to diagnosis him with depression and anxiety when he didn’t feel like that was the problem.

    National Alliance of Mental Illness (2020). Veterans & Active Duty. Retrieved from https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Veterans-Active-Duty

  2. jcbrandt at |

    I find this interesting coming from a military family and being raised on military bases throughout my childhood, adolescence, and until college. My mother worked for 22nd Med Group as a OB/GYN Nurse Practitioner, retiring after 20 years with the rank of Major. Right away my instincts tell me one of the main reasons why military personnel do not want to seek emergent medical treatment or seek help for mental health would be out of fear from losing or being relieved of their official duty to be in the military. That’s my first guess but let me research just a little to see what I find. Here is what I have found from Oxford Academic Epidemiologic Reviews. Approximately 60% of military personnel do not seek mental health treatment, mostly out of fear from that stigma the follows mental health. 44.2% report that their leadership unit my treat them differently and another 42.2 % thought they would be seen as weak. Although the conclusion of this large study found that the stigma amongst coworkers and leadership unit was not found but rather self-stigma was present. It seemed that initial intention was to not seek help mental health but when a crisis became evident individuals relied on other means to find help for mental illness through friends, family, coworkers, etc. Most military personnel who suffer from mental illness and are shy away could benefit greatly from receiving treatment(Sharp, M. et al. 2015).

    Reference
    Sharp, M. L., Fear, N. T., Rona, R. J., Wesley, S., Greenberg, N., Jones, N., & Goodwin, L. (2015, January 16). Stigma as a Barrier to Seeking Health Care Among Military Personnel With Mental Health Problems. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/epirev/article/37/1/144/423274

  3. jbonilla at |

    Eduardo,
    This is a very interesting topic and heartbreaking that military personnel have these personal barriers to seek medical and mental health treatment. Fortunately as time has gone by, society has somewhat been accepting of mental health disorders but at the same time we have a long way to go. I’m curious to find out if there are classes regarding mental health during training for military personnel. Also, I’m curious to find out if when service members return from deployment if social workers reach out to them or do they only provide services if the member contacts them directly and asks for assistance?

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