Veterans with PTSD seeking Disability Benefits - Research Paper Example

Sayer, N. A., Spoont, M., Murdoch, M., Parker, L. E., Hintz, S., & Rosenheck, R. (2011). A qualitative study of U.S. veterans' reasons for seeking Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits for posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 24(6), 699-707. doi:10.1002/jts.20693. This article sought to investigate the reasons that motivated American veterans to seek help in the department of veterans affairs disability benefits for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It emerges that this kind of disorder is the commonest mental disorders exhibited by the American veterans who are subject to compensation. The mental disorder can prove to be debilitating in the life of an individual because they face difficulties in coping with the situation arising from a serious job assignment. Veterans indulge in war and critical attacks, which may place them under stress. The purpose of the study was to outline the reasons that compelled American veterans to seek help from the department of veteran affairs. This was because different individuals seeking help were motivated by varying factors. In the recent past, cases of post traumatic stress disorder have registered an increase. The likely causes for this rise are the wars in the Afghanistan and Iraq. This explains why more veterans assigned to these regions are more likely to report PSTD and seek help. The study focused on 44 participants who were American veterans and who had made submissions of disability claims related to PSTD, which resulted from their job assignment. In order to identify the participants, the researchers relied on stratified purposeful sampling. Moreover, the researchers made efforts of ensuring a gender balance, but this proved to be impossible because of the limited number of women. Therefore, women were enrolled into the research regardless of the period that they had served in the military. There were a total of 3 researchers who participated in the process of data collection. The research adopted a semi structured interview methodology as the preferred data collection strategy. Interview sessions lasted for about 1 hour with all the researchers interviewing each participant. The investigators were individuals with remarkable experience in handling PTSD patients. The project coordinator of the research ensured that the investigators followed the research outline in all the procedures. All the interviewees and the research coordinator were required to summarize each interview session in logs that were filled after the interviews (Sayer, et al, 2011). Summary of the Article After data collection, the rigorous analysis process followed. The research coordinator who carried a qualitative data analysis by checking the verbatim transcripts filled in by the interviewers in an effort to assess whether they were accurate and complete did this. In addition, the logs filled in by the interviewers were also considered. A coding system was used that had its basis on the words and phrases used by the participants to describe their experience. Both inductive and deductive analyses were of critical significance in data analysis. Coding enabled the researcher to highlight the central themes emerging from the views of the participants. Throughout the research, the three investigators made efforts of promoting research quality. Different steps were taken to ensure that this was achieved. The research revealed that some of the reasons for the American veterans to seek the disability help included the current and the anticipated tangible needs, need for problem identification and clarification, and beliefs that justify and legitimize the disability status. These three factors were classified under internal factors while encouragement from trusted others and professional assistance were the main external factors ( p. 701). Meaning and Implications of the Results from the Study Posttraumatic stress disorder is one of the mental disorders affecting many American veterans. The researchers recognized the alarming rate at which the veterans seeking help and compensation from the department of veteran affairs had increased in the recent past. This explains why they sought to analyze the different reasons motivating veterans to submit disability claims. Prior to the research, the investigators highlighted that the experiences of veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan contributed to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder. It was established that some interrelated categories of reasons explained why veterans sought compensation and help. The major categories highlighted were not unique in any error of military service. They applied across different eras. However, it emerged that veterans serving in Vietnam were motivated to apply for the PTSD service. This was because of their evident difficulties of successfully coping with the challenges they faced during their deployment in that region (p. 703). The research revealed that many of American veterans considered the PTSD disability evaluation as an appropriate standard of assessing whether they needed help. The evaluation process involved an interview that sought to determine the veteran’s experiences as well as the relevant psychological testing. However, there was a measure of stigma, which prevented some veterans from seeking the PTSD benefits even when they qualified for them. Although the research yielded interesting findings, that explained why veterans seek PTSD benefits, it relied on a limited sample from only a small region in the United States. It is not evident whether the findings are applicable across a larger population. Moreover, the research relied on self-reported reasons on why the veterans sought PTSD benefits. This makes the research data subject to bias. Future research should seek to identify whether veterans enrolled in the program by giving them PTSD benefits and counseling are able to successfully address the mental disorder (p. 704). As highlighted above, the research relied on a limited sample of only 44 participants. Evidently, findings from such a small sample cannot be applied across the entire population. The researchers could focus on a larger sample with focus groups selected from different regions. This would present a diverse view of opinions on the reasons why veterans submit disability claims related to PTSD. Moreover, the researchers could also not incorporate the opinions of the staff in the department of veteran affairs, who are involved directly in assessing the submissions of veterans. This would serve to reduce the bias from self-reported data. The findings in this research highlight that veterans are motivated by different reasons to submit disability claims related to PTSD. There is a salient need for a future research to investigate the issue in depth and determine whether the veterans who qualify for the PTSD benefits also receive the required therapy to help them overcome the mental disorder (p. 705). Moreover, treatment procedures used in helping the PTSD veterans should be evaluated for efficiency. Reference Sayer, N. A., Spoont, M., Murdoch, M., Parker, L. E., Hintz, S., & Rosenheck, R. (2011). A qualitative study of U.S. veterans' reasons for seeking Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits for posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 24(6), 699-707. doi:10.1002/jts.20693. Read More