StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Suicide Rates Among Veterans - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Suicide Rates Among Veterans" discusses that although veterans who previously attempted suicide continue receiving mental treatment, it is ineffective. The Department of Veterans Affairs has failed to curb the rise in suicide rates among veterans…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.8% of users find it useful
Suicide Rates Among Veterans
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Suicide Rates Among Veterans"

The veteran population is currently estimated at 25 million Americans. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates over 178,000 veterans from the Iraqi and Afghan wars are currently suffering from single or multiple brain disorders.  Without access to effective treatment, veteran suicide rates will continue to increase.

Status Quo Policy Situation

 The Department of Veterans Affairs is providing inadequate healthcare and dysfunctional healthcare access and has been ineffective in handling the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder appropriately, as evidenced by the astoundingly high and rising rates of veterans who are attempting suicide. Efforts to address this issue have been abysmally unsuccessful.  In 2009 alone, there were 1800 veterans from two wars who attempted suicide.  The development and implementation of the new policy are critical and urgent. 

The Department of Veteran Affairs utilizes 132.2 billion dollars to provide each veteran with $2,600 per month for treatment.  Many hospitals and clinics have been opened to cater to these patients. However, the department has made little progress in minimizing the suicide rates, with lengthy waiting periods and single counseling sessions only proving to be inadequate.

Policy Recommendation

Support the Veterans Mental Health Screening Assessment Act proposed by representatives Rooney and McMahon. The Act will help prevent veteran suicide by;

  • providing timely cerebral disorder screening
  • enable tracking and monitoring of veterans who are at high suicide risks
  • making war returnee screening mandatory for veterans, thus reducing waiting periods and stigma
  • correct incompetency in the Department of Veteran Affairs that has resulted in lawsuits being filed by Veterans for Common Sense and other advocacy groups for veterans disabled by recent wars.

Alternative Policy Arguments Refuted

The Bill earlier experienced stiff opposition from Senator Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) who suggested:

  • it would lead to documentation of a mental health condition, interfering with the right of a veteran in applying for a firearms license
  • compulsory screening is an insult

He had strongly cautioned the House about enacting the bill.  However, according to the Senator’s website, he is no longer objecting.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Policy brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words”, n.d.)
Policy brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/sociology/1593356-policy-brief
(Policy Brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
Policy Brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1593356-policy-brief.
“Policy Brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1593356-policy-brief.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Suicide Rates Among Veterans

American National Government

It has been projected by some that close to fifty percent of current Middle East conflict veterans will seek medical treatment from the veterans Administration.... More than sixty percent of these injured veterans will seek short-term treatment, defined as medical care that lasts less than five years, but the other approximately forty percent of them will remain in the Veteran's Administration health care system for the rest of their lives (Partner, nap)....
8 Pages (2000 words) Term Paper

Veteran Homelessness

Being a veteran, this paper will aid in helping others especially fellow veterans to live a smooth life and avoid falling into problems of homelessness.... b) Thesis statement Due to economic status, the number of homeless people especially veterans in the United States seems to be increasing.... Do homeless veterans have similar needs and outcomes to those of non-veterans?... This research paper focuses on the challenges affecting homeless veterans and provides possible solutions for preventing and ending veteran homelessness....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Pervasive Increase in Incidences of Military Suicide in the US

In the same 3-year period of 2009-2011, suicide levels among the young female veterans saw an 11% increase; an overall examination of the data reveals that Suicide Rates Among Veterans remain significantly higher than that of civilians in the general populations.... Between 2009 and 2011, the number of young veterans committing suicide rose drastically and remained unchanged over the whole period of three years; shockingly, nearly 22 veterans committed suicide on a daily period over the three-year period, according to the Veteran Affairs Department estimates....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

The Failing of Medical Resources for America's Iraq and Afghanistan Conflict Veterans

The author states that the unfortunate condition of the current health care system is not limited to veterans.... However, as those veterans are the men and women who keep the country safe, more is owed to them than mediocre treatment, significant delays, and mountains of paperwork ....
8 Pages (2000 words) Term Paper

Role of the Iraq War in World Politics

The war has and still results in grievous consequences for both nations as well as neighboring countries among other third parties.... The essay "Role of the Iraq War in World Politics" sums up the war provided major changes as to the balance of power in the Middle East such as the weakening of the United States influence and the embracing of the Chinese doctrine of none interference in political matters....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

Fixing Suicide in the Military

These combat missions do significantly affect their psychological and social wellbeing, a case that has led to a sharp increase in suicide rates among the military.... However, interestingly, the same report indicates that the rate of suicide rates among military personnel who had never spent any time in the war zones had tripled in the same period.... Therefore, the suicide rates among the military could be an indication of deeply rooted problems in handling the special welfare of the military leading to psychological problems as a precursor to suicide....
12 Pages (3000 words) Coursework

Suicide Prevention Programs

Among them are children and adolescents who experience peer victimization and cyberbullying, veterans, and individuals who suffer from psychological disorders.... Accordingly, to the information presented in Kemp and Bossarte's Suicide Data Report, 2012, more than 18% of all 147,000 cases of suicide in the United States were committed by veterans.... One interesting and, at the same time, alarming fact is that cyberbullying victimization, which is at rising today due to the almost universal availability of the certain technological means and devices alongside with the Internet and anonymity is gives, is even more dangerous than bullying victimization, and this means that the possibility of committing suicide is even higher among the individuals with this experience....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

PTSD among Military Veterans

The approach involves an exploration of the available statistics to deduce trends in both rates of prevalence among military veterans and treatment options.... Consequently, efforts to treat veterans already suffering from PTSD need to be intensified in order to overcome the high rates of suicide among members of the group.... In one study, veterans of the Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/ OIF) showed a 14% PTSD prevalence, which is higher than the national average....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us