The Issues Regarding Access Healthcare For Rural Veterans

About 1.5 million other veterans, meanwhile, are considered at-risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.

Today, hundreds of thousands of service men and women and recent military veterans have seen combat. Many have been shot at, seen their buddies killed, or witnessed death up close. These are types of events that can lead to Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder ("Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD: A Growing Epidemic. “) Anyone that has gone through a traumatic event can be diagnosed with PTSD but research shows, military men and women are more susceptible to having PTSD (PTSD: A Growing Epidemic.) And, with little help from the US, many Veterans do not get the help they need or get treated for PTSD. Military men and women begin to

This study strives to increase the awareness of healthcare disparities among veterans in hopes that veterans can receive the best healthcare possible. This study has the potential to change the structure of veterans’ health care. If their health care is damaged to the extent that some insiders and outsiders believe it to be, then hopefully the veterans’ health care system can be restructured. These disparities can be addressed in community outreach programs to expand common knowledge on the subject.

Homelessness is another problem that plagues our vets. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV) reports that homeless veterans are mainly male, with approximately nine percent being female. The majority of homeless vets are single, live in urban areas and suffer from mental illness. They also suffer from alcoholism, substance abuse issues or co-occurring disorders.

Veterans, like anyone else, seek services such as secure housing, nutritional meals, basic physical health care, substance abuse care and aftercare, mental health counseling, personal development and empowerment. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a huge government organization that supports the veteran population by providing services in healthcare. Each year, VA’s specialized homelessness programs provide health care to almost 150,000 homeless veterans in the USA and other services to

United States veterans have risked their lives in order to give us all the freedom we have today, yet they are struggling in the society we have today and are forced to live on the streets. One major issue in our world today is the increasing number of how many veterans are homeless. After researching I have found the five most commonly discussed topics in this subject are; the number of homeless veterans in the whole United States, the different causes of veterans homelessness, the statistics of different races, ages, and sexes affected, if these people are being helped by the government or community-based support groups, and finally the homeless veteran populations around the United States. Veteran homelessness is an important issue in the world we live in today because of the amount of people who are affected, the causes for it have to do with our society today, there is a broad variation of people who are affected, citizens should be aware of which groups/programs are helping and how, and lastly, the populations of homeless veterans in states of the United States.

In order to understand the term “rural” as it applies to veterans, one must recognize how it is defined by the VA. The VA uses the rural-urban commuting areas (RUCA) system to define rural. Created by the USDA and the Dept. of Health and Human Services, the RUCA system takes into account population density, and how well a community is linked socio-economically to larger urban centers. According to RUCA an urban area has an urban nucleus of 50,000 people or more, with a core of total land area less than two square miles and a population density of 1,000 people per square mile. While an urban cluster is an area with a core similar to that of an urban area but with a population density of less than 1,000 people per every two square miles, the

These factors include lack of affordable housing, poverty, job or income loss, mental illness, substance abuse, and health problems. Approximately 28 percent of all Veterans live in rural areas and 50 percent in urban areas. (U.S. Homeless Veterans, 2016). Homeless veterans who live in rural areas face additional burdens of the lack of access to services. First, rural areas lack to provide fast inclusive services to homeless veterans (Biasetti & Nicols, n.d.). Secondly, affordability is a challenge and the access to housing programs are limited. Thirdly, there are less job opportunities and jobs usually offer low wages because it is difficult for local businesses to make a profit. Lastly, transportation is rarely available because many assistance centers are quite a distance (Biasetti & Nicols, n.d.). This results in the lack of resources to provide adequate support for those veterans who are

Compared with urban VA users, rural users relied more profoundly on the VA and Medicare and less on private insurance or other sources to pay for their health care.

The article begins defining its demographic, rural native veterans. A veteran is any individual who has served in the military. Secondly, rural veterans include those living in counties with less than seven civilians per square mile (Veterans Health Administration 2008). Finally, native veterans include the following ethnic groups: American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2010) American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) veterans comprise the largest minority ethnic group in the VHA of 12 percent. The article, “Health Needs of Rural Native Veterans” addresses health care disparities such as poverty, limited access to care, and education that the identified population is

Many veterans are unable to leave behind the trauma of Vietnam and psychologically return home. They struggle with a variety of extremely severe problems that neither they nor their families, friends, or communities knew how to understand

Steps have been taken to improve the situation for rural and highly rural veterans. In 2011 President Obama “pledged the support of the federal government for increased behavioral health care services through prevention-based alternatives and integration of community-based services through the Strengthening Our Military Families initiative.”(Helseth). Also in 2011 then VA head Eric Shinseki took part is a Listening and Walking Tour, visiting veterans in North Dakota, Montana, and Alaska.

Women veterans endure the stigma associated with their diagnoses and the limited access to mental health services in rural areas. Frequently, these women neglect to seek out services not only for fear of being stigmatized by military peers and health providers but also due to the provider’s inability to offer accessible facilities for those in rural areas. This is problematic, as this study illustrates the disparities of vendors available for those in urban areas opposed to rural areas. In rural areas, veteran women are significantly impacted while attempting to receive services as often they lack the appropriate resources necessary to actively engage in treatment due to proximity. These war heroes are not only deprived of resources but also the opportunity to participate in peer-based support groups and other therapies that are instrumental to the recovery process for veterans suffering from PTSD.

Rural Americans face an exclusive combination of issues that create disparities in health care that are not found in urban areas. Many complications met by healthcare providers and patients in rural arears are massively different than those located in urban areas. Financial factors, cultural and social variances, educational deficiencies, lack of acknowledgement by delegates and the absolute isolation of living in remote rural areas all combined to hinder rural Americans in their struggle to lead a normal, healthy life. Rural hospitals located in rural areas faces many disadvantages, such as; minimum resources, shortcoming or unprepared professionals, and financial disparities. Although many of these challenges could be solved

Health Care in Rural Areas Airelle Guron and Jeff Rubonal Waipahu High School February 24, 2015