Veterans Suicide Essay

Veteran suicides have been increasing tremendously over the last several years. Certain events have to occur for this to happen, and with veterans returning from the battlefield, some veterans have many issues to overcome. According to Shane III (2014), from 2009-2011, the number of young veterans committing suicides has increased (para. 1). In the same article, veterans who are older, saw a decrease in the suicide rate, while their fellow veterans, who are under the age of 30, have been experiencing a 44 percent increase, which is approximately two veterans per day after they have been discharged for a few years (para. 3). According to Shane (para.7), out of the twenty two deaths per day, about five are patients have been seen in the VA

It was shown that 45 percent of the veterans who had committed suicide had been in contact with their primary care providers, and 19 percent had made contact with their mental health provider. Older veterans generally are in more contact with their primary care provider than the younger veterans do. Fifty eight percent of veterans over the age of 55 were in contact with their primary care provider prior to death, and 11 percent in contact with their mental health provider prior to (para.2). Most veterans who had committed suicide had been seen for a normal check-up and had not gone in for mental health issues. If asked, the veteran may have denied it, or not have even been asked at all (para.29). There seem to be cases where veterans are using VA health facilities prior to death, but not utilizing the system to its full potential when desperately needed. It appears that the veterans are going and using the VAHC for normal health care needs, but when it comes down to desperate times, there is a break in the communication