HEALTHMental health of Iraqi veterans seen as a priorityChanging demographics of soldiers and increasing severity of injuries prompt a focus on care delivery.By Susan J. Landers, amednews staff. Feb. 20, 2006. Washington -- Veterans of Iraqi military action are different from those who returned from earlier wars. They're slightly older, with families, and more are women. However, like veterans of other conflicts, they are being diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder in great numbers. Of the 120,000 veterans who have sought care at Veterans Administration medical centers, about one-third receive at least tentative diagnoses of a mental disorder, the most frequent of which is posttraumatic stress disorder, said Antonette Zeiss, PhD, deputy chief consultant for mental health in the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs. She and others spoke at a Jan. 27 briefing on the mental health of returning soldiers and the rebuilding of Iraq's mental health system. A newly formed Iraqi National Mental Health Council has established among its goals the integration of mental health services into primary care practices, said Dr. Sabah Sadik, an adviser to the Iraq Ministry of Health. This is a change from the earlier, hospital-based Iraqi mental health program. Meanwhile, nearly 16,000 veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom were treated for posttraumatic stress disorder at VA medical centers from fiscal year 2002 to 2005, according to VA figures. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2006 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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