Social Work in the Context of the Military (some statistics)

I began this entry in July and haven't a clue why I didn't post it then. Unfinished, most likely, but it's been a while since I've focused on the military social work topic, so I don't know where else I was going to take it. For now. . .

PILOTS database posted here

Vital Mission: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans:

• The number of homeless veterans in CA 2005: 49,546
• The number of homeless veterans in CA 2006: 49,724
• The total number of veterans in CA 2005: 2,193,336
• The percent of veterans who are homeless: 2.26% (highest % for all 50 states)

Cunningham, M., Henry, M., & Lyons, W. (2007). Vital Mission: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans (Publication). Washington, DC: The Homeless Research Institute at the National Alliance to End Homelessness.


The Veterans for America November 2007 report "Trends in Treatment for America's Wounded Warriors":

* Almost 1.6 million American service members have deployed to OIF and OEF, and over 525,000 have deployed more than once• 60% of those deployed have family obligations

* 30% of Soldiers and Marines in high combat situations (those who spend over 56 percent of their time off base) will develop a mental health problem (depression, PTSD) – if members of National Guard, number rises to 49% of total population

* Soldiers on their second tour in Iraq are 50% more likely to develop a mental health problem than those on their first tour

* 58% of those with mental health issues will not seek treatment

* Of the 229,000 veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom who sought treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs between 2002 and December 2006, 37% received a diagnosis of a mental health condition, including 17% for PTSD

Trends in Treatment of American's Wounded Warriors: Psychological Trauma and Traumatic Brain Injuries: The Signature Wounds of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (Rep.). (2007). Washington, D.C.: Veterans for America.


The American Psychological Association February 2007 preliminary report on "The Psychological Needs of U.S. Military Service Members and Their Families":

* Approximately 1.5 million American troops have been deployed in support of the war effort; one-third of them have served at least two tours in a combat zone, 70,000 have been deployed three times, and 20,000 have been deployed at least 5 times
* At present, 700,000 children in America have at least one parent deployed

* As many as one-fourth of all returning service members are struggling with “psychological injuries”
* Currently, there are 1,839 psychologists employed by the VA, charged with serving more than 24.3 million veterans from previous wars as well as a rapidly growing number of GWOT veterans
* For example, 14% of those surveyed screened positive for acute stress symptoms and 17% screened positive for acute stress, depression, or anxiety. In addition, 14% of the soldiers surveyed for the MHAT-III reported using medication for a mental health, combat stress, or sleep problem
* There have been 3,416 U.S. military fatalities as of January 26, 2007; if we multiply that number by .8, the average number of children per active duty member (MFRI, 2004), we can draw the conclusion that approximately 2,733 children have lost a parent in OIF/OEF
* The cohort of families with service members who are experiencing combat-related stress and PTSD may be at risk for increased violence against children and Domestic Violence
* Hogeís 2004 landmark study found that among soldiers who met screening criteria for mental disorders, only 38-45% expressed interest in getting help through the military system, and only 23-40% of them had gotten any professional help in the past year
* Potential barriers to effective military mental health treatment for both active duty members and their families: having enough trained mental health practitioners, removing stigmatization, long waiting lists, poor referral process, limited hours, etc.
* Some common factors that can put military families at risk: young families, especially those experiencing a first military separation; families having recently moved to a new duty station; foreign born spouses; families with young children; those with lower pay grades; families without a unit affiliation; and National Guard and Reserve families

Johnson, S. J., Sherman, M. D., Hoffman, J. S., James, L. C., Johnson, P. L., Lochman, J. E., Magee, T. N., & Riggs, D. (2007). The Psychological Needs of U.S. Military Service Members and Their Families: A Preliminary Report (Rep.). American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force on Military Deployment Services for Youth, Families and Service Members.


PBS Now - http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/339/ptsd-facts.html

• 30.9% of Vietnam veterans in one study had developed PTSD during their lifetimes

• Between 1999 and 2004, the number of veterans seeking benefits for PTSD increased 79%
• In Iraq, roughly one in six combatants has experienced PTSD
• 35 percent of Iraq veterans sought psychological counseling within a year of coming home, according to the Department of Defense

National Survey on Drug Use and Health, "Male Users with Co-Occurring Serious Mental Illness and a Substance Use Disorder," Nov.11, 2004 - http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k4/vetsDualDX/vetsDualDX.htm

• In 2002/2003, an estimated 1.2 million male veterans were identified as suffering from serious mental illnesses. Approximately 340,000 of these individuals had co-occurring substance abuse disorders. Approximately 209,000 female veterans (13.1 percent) reported serious mental illness, and 25,000 (1.6 percent) reported co-occurring substance use disorder and SMI.

PILOTS database-Military social work research

It would have been nice to have this a month ago. . .

PILOTS database-Military social work research (link goes to USC login. available via ProQuest)

About this database:

The PILOTS bibliographic database, covering the Published International Literature On Traumatic Stress, is produced at the headquarters of the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in White River Junction, Vermont. The PILOTS database is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Its goal is to include citations to all literature on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental-health sequelae of traumatic events, without disciplinary, linguistic, or geographical limitations, and to offer both current and retrospective coverage.

Subject Coverage:

• post-traumatic stress disorder or acute stress disorder (with or without reference to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
• the assessment, description, prevention, or treatment of any psychiatric disorder, especially dissociative identity disorder (formerly called multiple personality disorder), other dissociative disorders, or borderline personality disorder, associated etiologically or epidemiologically with exposure to a traumatic event, or to an event experienced as traumatic by the population under discussion
• the preparation or provision of mental health services to a traumatized population or a population at risk of experiencing traumatic events
• issues of professional ethics, scientific methodology, or public policy relating to traumatized populations.

Dates of Coverage: 1871-current

Update Frequency: monthly

Size: Over 33,554 records as of January 2008