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Abstract

Objective:

The relationship between perceived barriers and prospective use of mental health care among veterans was examined.

Methods:

The sample included Iraq and Afghanistan veterans (N=305) who endorsed symptoms of depression or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or alcohol misuse at intake to a postdeployment clinic between May 2005 and August 2009. Data on receipt of adequate treatment (nine or more mental health visits in the year after intake) were obtained from a VA database.

Results:

Adequate treatment was more likely for women (odds ratio [OR]=4.82, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.37–16.99, p=.014) and for those with more severe symptoms of PTSD (OR=1.03, CI=1.01–1.05, p=.003) and depression (OR=1.06, CI=1.01–1.11, p=.01). Perceived barriers were not associated with adequate treatment.

Conclusions:

Male veterans with mental health problems should be targeted with outreach to reduce unmet need. Research is needed to identify perceived barriers to treatment among veterans. (Psychiatric Services 63:380–382, 2012; doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.201100187)
Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have high rates of mental disorders (1), but in the year after diagnosis, only 30% of those with a diagnosed mental disorder attend at least nine sessions of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health treatment (2).
Barriers to mental health care for military personnel and veterans have been examined extensively, and a number of factors that interfere with treatment seeking have been identified (3). Several studies have examined barriers to care among Iraq and Afghanistan military personnel and veterans by using the Perceived Stigma and Barriers to Care for Psychological Problems (PSBCPP) (3,4), but no studies have examined whether such barriers interfere with prospective mental health treatment use (3). The study reported here examined barriers to mental health care identified by use of the PSBCPP (4,5) and their association with prospective VA mental health care use among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who sought VA care and who endorsed mental health symptoms.

Methods

The sample was drawn from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who were assessed between May 2005 and August 2009 (N=479) at intake to a VA postdeployment health clinic offering general medical, mental health, and social work assessment and referral services. Mental health evaluations were encouraged for all veterans seeking care, and an assessment packet was administered to each patient at intake. Veterans with missing data on all items about perceived barriers (N=28) or on health care utilization (N=31) were excluded, as were those from the Coast Guard (N=2) and Air Force (N=18) and those who did not endorse mental health problems (N=95), yielding a sample of 305 veterans.
Data on race-ethnicity were missing for more than 5% of veterans (N=28, 9%). There was no association between missing data and demographic characteristics. The VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle Division, Institutional Review Board approved this study and a waiver of consent.
Demographic characteristics included age, sex, race-ethnicity, marital status, educational attainment, employment status, annual household income, and military branch. The sample of 305 veterans included those who endorsed depressive symptoms in the two weeks before the assessment (N=273), which was indicated by a score of ≥5 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) (6); those who endorsed at least subthreshold posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the past month (N=231), as indicated by a score of ≥35 on the PTSD Checklist-Military Version (PCL-M) (7,8); or those who endorsed current or past-six-month alcohol misuse (N=91), as indicated by a score of ≥1 on the PHQ-9 alcohol abuse subscale.
A modified statement from the PSBCPP (4,5) was included. For ten potential barriers, veterans were asked to rate their agreement with the statement “If you had any post-deployment mental health concerns, what factors might affect your decision to receive mental health counseling or services?” (1, strongly disagree; 3, neither agree nor disagree; and 5, strongly agree). The ten barriers were related to access, stigma, and trust. Access-related barriers were “I don't know where to get help” (N=58, 19%, rated the item as ≥4), “I don't have adequate transportation” (N=31, 10%), “It is difficult to schedule an appointment” (N=61, 20%), and “There would be difficulty getting time off work for treatment” (N=101, 33%). Stigma-related barriers were “It would harm my career” (N=84, 28%), “Members of my unit might have less confidence in me” (N=79, 26%), “My unit leadership might treat me differently” (N=95, 32%), and “I would be seen as weak” (N=110, 37%). Trust-related barriers were “My visit would not remain confidential” (N=50, 17%), and “I do not trust mental health professionals” (N=27, 9%).
Item responses within each barrier domain were averaged to create access, stigma, and trust subscales; internal consistency was acceptable or higher (Cronbach's α=.649, .886, and .709, respectively).
The outcome was a dichotomous measure reflecting use of outpatient mental health care in a mental health setting (for example, at a PTSD or mental health specialty clinic) or in a primary care setting in VA Northwest Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN 20) medical centers and community-based clinics one year after intake. Use was documented with administrative data from the VISN 20 Data Warehouse (9). The average number of visits for the 305 veterans in the year after intake was 7.5±14.3, and veterans who had at least nine visits (N=75, 25%) were considered to have received minimally adequate treatment, on the basis of methods used in a national study of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans receiving care from the VA (2).
Analyses were performed in SPSS, version 16.0. Logistic regressions included all variables associated with the outcome in bivariate tests (p<.05). Because of multicollinearity, mental health symptom indicators were examined in separate models.

Results

Table 1 summarizes data on sample characteristics. A majority of participants were male, Caucasian, unmarried, and employed, had an annual income of less than $25,000, and had served in the Army. Nearly half had some college education. Stigma-related barriers were the most commonly endorsed (111 veterans, 37%, endorsed at least one stigma-related barrier).
In bivariate tests, sex and military branch were significantly associated with use of mental health care (Table 1). Those with at least nine mental health visits had significantly more severe PTSD symptoms than those with fewer than nine visits (mean±SD PCL-M score of 56.2±16.1 versus 46.6±16.9). Those with at least nine visits also had significantly higher depression symptom severity (mean PHQ-9 score of 14.7±6.9 versus 11.2± 6.5) and had higher levels of endorsement of stigma-related barriers (mean rating of 3.0±1.1 versus 2.6±1.1) and trust-related barriers (mean rating of 2.5±1.0 versus 2.1±1.0).
When PTSD symptom severity, sex, military branch, endorsement of stigma-related barriers, and endorsement of trust-related barriers were entered into the model, women were significantly more likely than men to have received adequate mental health treatment (odds ratio [OR]=4.82, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.37–16.99, p=.014). PTSD symptom severity also was associated with increased likelihood of having received adequate mental health treatment (OR=1.03, CI=1.01–1.05, p=.003). When depression symptom severity replaced PTSD in the model, women (OR=3.98, CI=1.17–13.49, p=.027) and those with greater depression symptom severity (OR=1.06, CI=1.01–1.11, p=.01) were significantly more likely to have received adequate mental health treatment. Receipt of adequate treatment was not associated with endorsement of stigma-related barriers or trust-related barriers.

Discussion

This study is the first to prospectively examine the association between barriers to mental health treatment seeking that were identified by the PSBCPP and use of mental health care among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Although perceived barriers among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are well documented (3), it does not appear that the barriers measured in this study interfered with receipt of adequate treatment among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking VA care. Other factors were independently associated with the receipt of adequate care. Severity of PTSD and depression symptoms were predictors of mental health care utilization. Male veterans were less likely than female veterans to have received adequate mental health treatment and were therefore at risk for unmet need. Only 25% of veterans received adequate treatment, which is comparable to rates found in a national study of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans (2) and which suggests that other critical factors may be at play.
Several limitations of this study warrant mention. The study measured barriers to care among treatment-seeking veterans, and the findings may not generalize to veterans who do not seek VA care. Future studies should examine whether the measured barriers have an impact on receipt of treatment from non-VA providers and on VA treatment initiation. The association of these barriers with treatment use may vary if use is measured as a count variable rather than as a dichotomous measure of receipt of adequate treatment. However, barriers were not associated with treatment use in the analyses reported here when the outcome was treated as continuous (data not shown).
The PSBCPP was developed for active-duty personnel, and the questions that elicit the respondent's view of the perceptions of unit members or leaders may have different relevance for veterans separated from service. Nonetheless, the sample's high endorsement of these items suggests that former peers and military leadership remained a salient reference group. We did not assess all potential barriers. For example, distance to VA facilities is a known barrier to mental health treatment in this population (2) and should be included in future studies that examine the association between barriers and treatment seeking. The PSBCPP emphasizes public stigma, whereas self-stigma is also likely to influence treatment seeking; future studies should incorporate additional measures to capture a broader range of potential stigma-related barriers (3).

Conclusions

Male Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with mental health problems who enter VA care should be targeted with outreach to reduce unmet need. More research is needed to identify barriers that interfere with mental health care utilization among these veterans.

Acknowledgments and disclosures

This report is based on work supported by resources from the VA Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle Division. The authors acknowledge the life and work of their late colleague Michele Klevens, who contributed to this study and whose clinical skills, wisdom, good-heartedness, and dedication to veterans was an inspiration to them and a gift to the veterans she served.
The authors report no competing interests.

References

1.
Seal KH, Bertenthal D, Miner CR, et al.: Bringing the war back home: mental health disorders among 103,788 US veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan seen at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. Archives of Internal Medicine 167:476–482, 2007
2.
Seal KH, Maguen S, Cohen B, et al.: VA mental health services utilization in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the first year of receiving new mental health diagnoses. Journal of Traumatic Stress 23:5–16, 2010
3.
Vogt D: Mental health-related beliefs as a barrier to service use for military personnel and veterans: a review. Psychiatric Services 62:135–142, 2011
4.
Britt T: The stigma of psychological problems in a work environment: evidence from the screening of service members returning from Bosnia. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 30:1599–1618, 2000
5.
Hoge CW, Castro CA, Messer SC, et al.: Combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, mental health problems, and barriers to care. New England Journal of Medicine 351:13–22, 2004
6.
Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB: The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. Journal of General Internal Medicine 16:606–613, 2001
7.
PTSD Checklist (PCL). Washington, DC, US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD, 2010. Available at www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/assessments/ptsd-checklist.asp
8.
Weathers F, Litz B, Herman D, et al. (eds): The PTSD Checklist (PCL): Reliability, Validity, and Diagnostic Utility. Presented at the annual convention of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, San Antonio, Tex, Oct 24–27, 1993
9.
Overview and History of the VISN 20 Data Warehouse. Washington, DC, US Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Northwest Health Network, 2011. Available at www.visn20.med.va.gov/v20/datawarehouse/documents/overhistory.asp

Figures and Tables

Table 1 Characteristics of 305 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and bivariate associations with receipt of adequate mental health care

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric Services
Go to Psychiatric Services
Psychiatric Services
Pages: 380 - 382
PubMed: 22476304

History

Published online: 1 April 2012
Published in print: April 2012

Authors

Details

Katherine D. Hoerster, Ph.D., M.P.H. [email protected]
Except for Dr. Ahmad, the authors are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle Division, 1660 South Columbian Way (S-116), Seattle, WA 98108 (e-mail: [email protected]).
Dr. Hoerster and Dr. Jakupcak are also with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle.
Carol A. Malte, M.S.W. [email protected]
Except for Dr. Ahmad, the authors are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle Division, 1660 South Columbian Way (S-116), Seattle, WA 98108 (e-mail: [email protected]).
Zachary E. Imel, Ph.D. [email protected]
Except for Dr. Ahmad, the authors are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle Division, 1660 South Columbian Way (S-116), Seattle, WA 98108 (e-mail: [email protected]).
Zeba Ahmad, Ph.D.
Dr. Ahmad is with the Department of Clinical Psychology, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle.
Stephen C. Hunt, M.D. [email protected]
Except for Dr. Ahmad, the authors are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle Division, 1660 South Columbian Way (S-116), Seattle, WA 98108 (e-mail: [email protected]).
Matthew Jakupcak, Ph.D. [email protected]
Except for Dr. Ahmad, the authors are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Puget Sound Healthcare System, Seattle Division, 1660 South Columbian Way (S-116), Seattle, WA 98108 (e-mail: [email protected]).
Dr. Hoerster and Dr. Jakupcak are also with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle.

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