Gap In The Healthcare Delivery
Despite having a workforce of doctors who are highly trained and specialized, the United States nevertheless has care gaps throughout the country. One of the most frequently mentioned shortages in primary care and mental health. At the same time, there are severe shortages across many other fields, especially in rural locations (Gaps in Equity Related to Mental Health Access for Veterans | Healthcare Essay Example, n.d.). Due to the extreme intensity of the labor that veterans have performed and the variety of adverse effects, ensuring improved outcomes in the mental health field is among the most critical healthcare priorities (Cheney et al., 2018). The particular gap that health specialists need to explore has to do with how little the healthcare industry is doing to meet the mental health needs of veterans. American veterans have comparatively high rates of emotional stress and mental diseases, particularly those who took part in the most recent wars, such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Therefore, reducing the obstacles that prevent people from receiving mental health care is crucial to eradicating disadvantages that worsen the situation for a group of people who are already at a disadvantage.
History
Insufficient emphasis on the mental health requirements of the military is a result of counselors’ inadequate comprehension of what battle entails. Since the end of World War II, the demand for services in mental health that could lessen the trauma they endured during combat has grown. Nevertheless, veterans also had to deal with reconstructing their families and overcoming socioeconomic obstacles. The target demographic has faced the repercussions of posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq (Gaps in Equity Related to Mental Health Access for Veterans | Healthcare Essay Example, n.d.). Lack of employment and inadequate support in education are the leading issues of significant priority compared to enhancing mental health wellness. As a result of slowing the development of psychological well-being due to other difficulties, the problem of disparities in mental health care for veterans has historically arisen. Since few veterans seek assistance as they struggle with other life concerns, the lack of focus on the issue has been evident for decades.
Socioeconomic Background
Despite the notion that military services are meant to help overcome adversity in those who serve their countries, mental health problems are prevalent. People join the military for various reasons, including their desire to uphold their country, monetary support, educational advantages, and family traditions. Additionally, many candidates are recent high school graduates with “low career prospects who chose military duty as a means of finding employment and gaining some skills for future occupations. However, many people do not realize that war is a multifaceted experience that entails physical and emotional stress (Gaps in Equity Related to Mental Health Access for Veterans | Healthcare Essay Example, n.d.). Modern military turns to suicide and injure themselves with an explosive device as a solution. Many veterans experience social isolation after leaving the military and face uncertain employment prospects, which reduces their quality of life and possibilities. These results demonstrate the importance of paying close attention to veterans’ mental health because ignoring their needs will only worsen the issue.
Healthcare Affected by the Gap
The target population is negatively affected by the destructive psychological disorders that arise due to the gaps in access to mental health care. They identified 11–20 out of every 100 former soldiers (11–20%) who took part in Operations Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Enduring Freedom (OEF). Additionally, according to the survey, 12% of veterans experienced the illness due to their participation in a war. However, according to the U.S. Department of V.A., “around 30% of Vietnam veterans have PTDS” at some point in their lives (Gaps in Equity Related to Mental Health Access for Veterans | Healthcare Essay Example, n.d.). According to statistics, military personnel encounter conditions in warfare that lead to serious mental problems. These mental illnesses are major contributors to diabetes as well as hypertension. Veterans’ declining physical and mental health underscores the critical need for appropriate policies to balance the supply and demand for services. Additionally, it is crucial to keep track of how the demand is changing and, if it increases rapidly, to inform the appropriate authorities of the necessity for service expansion.
Implication
The veteran community needs a high quality of life and considerable growth and development prospects for effective mental health and general well-being management. Veterans’ ability to be effective at work and school get hampered if the mental healthcare gap is not closed. Veterans who receive insufficient attention for their mental health requirements may also acquire post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD may drastically reduce veterans’ capacity to handle their healthcare requirements and seek medical attention (Gaps in Equity Related to Mental Health Access for Veterans | Healthcare Essay Example, n.d.). Additionally, homeless people are more likely to be veterans. Limited employment and educational options combined with PTSD lead to a problematic socioeconomic situation.
Existing Initiatives – Alpha Healthcare and Goal Initiatives
The goal of the current initiatives, like the APHA-initiated program, is to give medical advantages to people who have been dismissed and freed from service on the honor system. The program addresses several policy stances, including suicide prevention, mental health as an integral component of healthcare, integrity in healthcare and social services, and non-discriminatory cover of all mental therapy for veterans. The VA program aims to change the level of healthcare services criteria to increase coverage (Gaps in Equity Related to Mental Health Access for Veterans | Healthcare Essay Example, n.d.). Veterans still face restrictions regarding their eligibility for VA-related programs. For example, veterans with “50% and more of disability, and those who are jobless due to their condition, are given top consideration. Another objective of the effort is to increase the retention of V.A. health professionals by lowering their levels of fatigue and burnout, which hinder their ability to provide competent care to disadvantaged populations. The chance of guaranteeing the veterans’ mental health results increases with staff effectiveness.
Circumstances For Development
The effort was created in response to the comparatively high incidence of mental illness and trauma among U.S. veterans, with the most recent wars affecting those in Iraq and Afghanistan. The department of veteran affairs, together with the U.S. Congress, came up with a unified policy to reemphasize on the policies address the growing issue of mental health among veterans, as previously there have been no mental health rules to discourse veteran services (Gaps in Equity Related to Mental Health Access for Veterans | Healthcare Essay Example, n.d.). Because policymakers have not prioritized the problem of veterans’ mental health, the target demographic continues to have access gaps to resources.
Resources Required
Due to the problems brought on by the alarming prevalence of staff turnover, veterans have encountered gaps in their access to mental health care. The purpose of APHA and other programs is to assist veterans in bettering their mental health and expanding service coverage. However, there are scarce resources needed to accomplish initiatives objectives. Personnel is the first classification of resources necessary to accomplish the initiative objective (Gaps in Equity Related to Mental Health Access for Veterans | Healthcare Essay Example, n.d.). It is also essential to lower burnout and fatigue among the medical professionals in charge of the sensitive population. Therefore, a systematic lack of non-human and human resources that could assist in the delivery of prevention strategies is to blame for disparities in access to mental healthcare—the second classification of resources necessary in finance. The rationale behind the statement is that when the population undergoes economic tension, in the population results in mental illnesses, substance abuse, and deaths.
Improvements
Veterans need to raise their out-of-pocket expenditure on services to make the necessary progress (Gaps in Equity Related to Mental Health Access for Veterans | Healthcare Essay Example, n.d.). There is a need to improve APHA initiatives since it cannot provide free coverage for all veterans (Gaps in Equity Related to Mental Health Access for Veterans | Healthcare Essay Example, n.d.). Since a lack of staff constraints on the project and high turnover rates brought on by compassion fatigue, many American veterans suffering from mental health difficulties cannot acquire insurance coverage or pay for services independently.
Current Regulations
The claimed ineffectiveness of the current approaches to closing entry gaps for mental health care necessitates regulating the issue. Health technologies are now part of overcoming mental illnesses, specifically PSTD (Cheney et al., 2018). This solution’s significance may be related to the fact that it eliminates the communication gap between veterans and service providers by utilizing low-tech tools that will improve interactions, provide new resources, and raise awareness. E-Health value of the assets from one-on-one calls for patients and healthcare professionals to online chat rooms for treatment support. Using the technologies can provide direction for managing symptoms, which is essential for the continuous treatment of mental illness problems. Due to their broad applicability in various situations, programs that utilize technologies are crucial for developing a broader coverage of mental health support for veterans.
Conclusion
Veterans now do not get the best mental health care possible. The ability of the ACA and V.A. to treat the core psychological issues veterans experience due to exposure to traumatic and dangerous experiences is restricted. Veterans are subject to various barriers when trying to get the mental health care they need, from high employee turnover rates brought on by compassion fatigue to restrictions on treatment eligibility under the ACA. As a result of the changes from the insurance company that has resulted in reduced funding towards the veterans, it calls for special attention.
Reference
Cheney, A. M., Koenig, C. J., Miller, C. J., Zamora, K., Wright, P., Stanley, R., … & Pyne, J. M. (2018). Veteran-centered barriers to V.A. mental healthcare services use. BMC health services research, 18(1), 1–14.
Gaps in Equity Related to Mental Health Access for Veterans | Healthcare Essay Example. (n.d.). Assignology. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://assignology.com/gaps-in-equity-related-to-mental-health-access-for-veterans/
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