Rural Veterans

816 Words2 Pages

Statement of the Problem Anxiety and depression begin to overwhelm a veteran who desires assistance and wants needed help but lacks the requisite transportation. A female veteran living more than 200 miles from the nearest Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital or VA Clinic desperately wishes for help in regards to the rape she experienced while on active-duty. Both veterans suffer from maladies incurred while serving their country, and both veterans encounter barriers in their search for help—each veteran has their own set of barriers to face. According to the National Rural Health Association (NHRA), rural veterans are in need of advocacy that expands the availability of health care providers, updates care delivery mechanisms, and enlists providers …show more content…

Location in rural areas has an effect on the quality of life for veterans on the development of mental health problems upon returning home after deployment and enlistment (Bennett, Crabtree, Schaffer, & Britt, 2011). However, location is not the only factor contributing to a rural veteran’s quality of life…other aspects include; veteran’s mental health symptoms, help-seeking behaviors, stress, length of enlistment, and history of deployment (Bennet et al., …show more content…

Problem Exploration The issue of access can be considered within the context of comparing the differences in health related quality of life between rural and urban veterans. The geographical barriers faced by rural veterans can be significant. Specifically, in comparison to their urban counterparts, rural veterans have a lower quality of life in relation to their health, and in contrast to urban veterans have been found to have a higher rate of physical comorbidities (Weeks et al., 2004). Mental Health Issues Equally important is the lack of access for rural veterans seeking mental health treatment. According to Bennett, et al. (2004), in comparison to urban-based veterans, rural veterans have a greater concern in their ability to access transportation in their seeking of mental health services. As an illustration, after reaching out to their communities, the Alabama Veterans Rural Health Initiative (ARHI) found that of all their veteran participants, a total of 56 percent screened positive for at least one Axis I mental disorders (Davis et al.,

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