Policy Synthesis Essay

Second, friends and family need to get their loved ones to a hospital and talking to someone who can professionally help them. Finally, the Veterans Affairs office must educate friends, family, employers, and institutions like colleges and community organizations, as to how best to recognize the signs and symptoms of suicide and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) so that they can get them help sooner rather than later. It is time to stop veteran suicides and to get people to understand that they are the first stepping stone to getting their loved ones the assistance they need. Friends, family, institutions and organizations must appreciate that they are capable of stopping their loved ones from committing suicide on account of the traumas inflicted upon them by military

I am very shocked when I listen to the lecture about the military suicide. This lecture focuses on the horrible situation about the military suicide. A big part of the soldiers does not die in the war, but in the peaceful military. People in the USA do not care about the military suicide until the late 1970s to early 1980s. I find two social problems in this lecture. First is the military does not pay much attention to the mental health of the soldiers. Second is the government does not have many good policies to help veterans.

The Air Force lost 38 airmen to suicide in 2008, a rate of 11.5 suicides per 100,000 airmen. The average over the past five years — since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom — was 11 deaths per 100,000 annually. Of the airmen lost in 2008, 95 percent were men and 89 percent were enlisted. Young enlisted men with a rank of E1 to E4 and between the ages of 21 and 25 have the highest risk of suicide. Recently released data indicates that active duty males carry, for the first time in known history, a suicide risk greater than that of comparable males in the general population (Psychotherapy Brown Bag, 2009). This is particularly noteworthy considering that the military entrance process screens out serious mental illness prior to entry onto active duty, and that the rate of suicide in military males has historically been significantly lower than comparable civilian populations. To help

Keywords: veterans, Veteran Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014, H.R. 3230, Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act of 2014, Clay Hunt SAV Act, Justice as Fairness, vulnerable population, healthcare disparities, healthcare reform, social justice

The answers to this question amazed me. I have found out that close to 17 veterans commit suicide daily and, over a year, that number adds up to over 6,000 suicides. I have also discovered that half of veterans with suicidal thoughts and tendencies do not seek help for their problems out of fear of being judged. Perhaps the most shocking statistic I found was that during the Vietnam War, the number of veterans' suicide greatly exceeded the number of deaths caused during combat. The two main information sources I used to answer this question are my expert interview and a GALE article titled Growing Public Health Crisis of Domestic Violence and Suicides by Returning Veterans. I asked my expert specifically about the statistics of veterans' suicide and she gave me a lot of insight on the issue. The GALE article contains a lot of statistics such as the daily number of veterans' suicide. My thoughts about the statistics of veterans' suicide are mainly about how shockingly high they are. I was surprised when I found out that 17 service men and women commit suicide every day. I was even more surprised when the article said that over 6,000 suicides occur every year and I calculated that number myself just to make sure. My findings on the statistics of veterans' suicide are both shocking and twistedly

Authorities not even aware of the spike in suicides in the 2/7 deployment. The Department of Veterans Affairs said that they don’t track suicide trends amount veterans of specific military units. The resulting suicide rate for the group is nearly four times the rate for young male veterans as a whole, and fourteen times that for all Americans.

One of the disadvantage of previous military wars with todays, is technology. Now soldiers can stay in touch with their families so easy through social media. It is stressful for a soldier to see their friends and family day to day struggle or success, while they are trying to survive combat. So that?s when depression begins followed by alcohol abuse and ending with suicide. Fact: relationship problems are one of the most frequent risk factors associated with suicides among military members. ?Fact: relationship problems are one of the most frequent risk factors associated with suicides among military members? (Litts 2013). Litts also argues that suicidal can be caused due to brain

Suicide rates in the military are at twenty-two a day and that was in two thousand one (Dao and Lehren). In two thousand two suicides were at the rate of ten point three per one hundred thousand people (Dao and Lehren). Suicide rates in two thousand twelve were at three hundred and fifty (Dao and Lehren). In two thousand one there were two thousand seven hundred and maybe even more because this statistic did not include National Guard and reserve troops who were not on active duty (Dao and Lehren). However, studies are finding that eighty percent of soldier suicides were non-combat related (Dao and Lehren). This study is causing a concern to the military for the aspects of the background checks that the soldiers have to go through to get into the military. This is causing concern in the metal health part of the multiple series of test that these soldiers have to go through. Questions are arising like “Are the test becoming to easy and are we letting to many people in for not the right reasons?” This leads to looking farther into the causes of suicide in the military.

As a consequence of the stresses of war and inadequate job training, when they get out of the service many have fallen behind their contemporaries. If they are fortunate enough to become employed, many of them are unable to hold a job due to untreated PTSD and acquired addictions without services and counseling designed for them. These factors may place our returning veterans at a higher risk of suicide. In 2007, the US Army reported that there were 115 suicides among OIF/OEF veterans. This was the highest number of suicides reported since the Army started keeping track about 30 years ago. In general, the risk for suicide among these veterans was not higher than that found in the U.S. population (Tull). However, there are several programs and 24 hour suicide hotlines available for those that may contemplate committing suicide as an option.

After taking a suicide assessment, such as the SLAP, and it has been determined that the client requires hospitalization to facilitate their safety the next steps will solely depend if the client is receptive to it or not. If the client is willing to accept help or completely against it will determine how the conversation will go to implement a safety plan. It is best to error on the side of caution and go with your gut instinct.

On February 12, 2015, President Barack Obama signed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act (Clay Hunt Act) that will work towards expanding and allowing for greater efficiency and coherence within The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health services and suicide prevention programs. The Clay Hunt Act includes peer support and community outreach pilot programs, requirement of 3rd party evaluations, collaboration with non-profit mental health organizations, creation of a centralized interactive website for all mental health services, extended combat veteran eligibility and an incentive loan repayment program for psychiatrists. The Clay Hunt Act was named after a marine veteran who died by suicide in March 2011 after a long battle with post-traumatic stress disorder and survivor’s guilt. Clay had extensive difficulty receiving adequate mental health services from the VA. He commented to his mother, “I’m a guinea pig for drugs. They’ll put me on one thing, I’ll have side effects, and then they put me on something else (iava.org).” The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, and many other news organization have all run features on the struggle American Veterans have with accessing mental health services, including the VA’s lengthy wait times, staff shortage, and the sole focus on medication to treat mental health disorders. (……). Despite the VA’s current initiatives, the rates of suicide by veterans have continued to increase with the current

The Clay Hunt Act aims to achieve effective and improved mental health and suicide prevention programs for American veterans through annual evaluations, centralization of information, a loan repayment program for psychiatrists, community outreach, extended eligibility for combat veterans, and collaboration with non-profit mental health organizations. These components compliment the VA’s ongoing commitment to providing timely and effective care to American veterans and build upon President Obama’s 19 Executive Actions from August 2014 (Office of the Press Secretary, 2014).

When thinking about veteran’s suicide, the one number that sticks in our mind is twenty-two. Meaning that twenty-two veterans commit suicide a day. This number is so etched into our society that it has been on the news. There are even organizations that hold twenty two mile runs and walks fundraisers to raise money and awareness to that number. However this number is not that amount of veterans that commit suicide. It is actually a lot more. This number of twenty-two veterans a day comes from a study done by the VA. However this study has flaws, and there is evidence that the number of veterans suicides is more than twenty-two a day.

No military in the history of the world has been more widely deployed than the United States. The United States currently has troops stationed in 150 countries, and each year thousands of American citizens are sent abroad for active duty. However, the mental health of veterans are not taken into consideration when they return home. Many have been exposed to prolonged periods of combat-related stress or traumatic events that can lead to severe disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and traumatic brain injury (TBI)—which can plague veterans for the rest of their lives. Groups such as the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America are advocating for change due to the high suicide rates of veterans who are not receiving adequate help for their conditions. It is estimated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that 22 veterans commit suicide every day after a long struggle with the physical and mental tolls of war. However, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been insufficiently handling with the current numbers of veterans with mental health conditions— which is a key element of this issue. To deal with this problem, President Obama signed a bill this past March to allow greater access of mental health care for veterans. The bill is aimed at suicide prevention by simplifying the health care process, as well as by collaborating with nonprofit mental health organizations to effectively reach the public. Psychiatry students are also

Equally important, in regards to PTSD and it subsequent influence on suicide, McCarthy et al. (2012), using a national cohort of patients, examined the suicide rates of rural veterans and their urban counterparts and found that after controlling for age, gender, mental health access, and psychiatric diagnoses, rural veterans are at a higher risk of suicide, and suicide rates were higher than their urban counterparts due simply to their resident location. Furthermore, the research indicates that even after accounting for access to mental health care services, living in a rural area increases risk of suicide (McCarthy et al., 2012).