The Use of Mental Health Services Among US Military Wives, Essay Example

“Deployment and the Use of Mental Health Services among U.S. Army Wives” by Alyssa J. Mansfield, Ph.D., M.P.H., discusses the effect that regular and extended deployments of military personnel caused by operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have on mental health of military spouses. As the phenomenon of deployment’s impact on soldiers’ wives is largely unstudied, research group headed by Alyssa J. Mansfield, U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine experienced worker, conducted an analyzed comparison of military spouses’ mental health diagnoses based on the fact of their husbands’ deployment and the size of deployment period (number of months on active service).

The focus is made on the deployments between 2003 and 2006, occurring while the Operation Iraqi Freedom in the Iraq–Kuwait region and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The authors are, therefore, putting forward an assumption that “the risks of mental health disorders and rates of medical visits yielding mental health diagnoses would be increased among spouses of soldiers with prolonged deployments between 2003 and 2006” (Mansfield, Kaufman, Marshall, Gaynes, Morrissey, & Engel, 2010).

The research represents a statistical analysis of an examined electronic medical records for most “outpatient medical visits between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2006, by wives of active-duty Army personnel who either received outpatient care at a U.S. military treatment facility or used military medical insurance for an outpatient medical visit at a nonmilitary health care facility” (Mansfield, Kaufman, Marshall, Gaynes, Morrissey, & Engel, 2010).  All patients fall within the eighteen to forty-eight years of age group. All the available medical data were acquired from the Standard Ambulatory Data Record and TRICARE enrolled-dependent data.

A military member’s rank, overall time in the service and active duty, the number of months deployed in military operations, the total amount of deployments for these operations during the same period, were all considered. After the socio-demographic attributes and the mental health history of the wives had been adjusted, the statistical analysis was performed.

The results of the study show that extended deployment has resulted into an increasing number of mental health diagnoses among U.S. Army wives. The sample consisted of 6,585,224 outpatient observations by 250,626 spouses, of whom 34.7% had no less than one mental health diagnosis for the duration of the study period. The sample was divided into two distinct groups which were eventually compared: women whose husbands were not deployed, and those whose husbands were deployed. The most common diagnoses among both groups turned out to be acute stress reaction, sleep and adjustment disorders, depression and anxiety. “The number of wives with one or more diagnoses in these categories during the study period was lower among spouses of nondeployed personnel” (Mansfield, Kaufman, Marshall, Gaynes, Morrissey, & Engel, 2010).

Even thought the present study support the estimated hypothesis, the issue requires further investigation. The authors inform about the probable shortcoming of their research. The exclusion of race or ethnic groups, potential diagnostic bias, unavailability of the exact dates of deployment for soldiers, may all have affected the study. In addition, the analysis did not contain data on the soldier’s mental health, which could have an effect on the wives’ familiarity and understanding of psychiatric conditions and treatment. The research does not as well provide information on a specific link between deployment-related stressors and the augmented threat of a mental health diagnosis or the use of mental health services. Therefore, the study fails to illustrate the consequences of prolonged deployment on the mental health of wives with consideration of other stressors they may have been handling.

Nevertheless, I find the study quite effective, and, definitely, worth being further investigated. The fact that the mental health effects of recent military operations are observed not only in soldiers but also in their immediate families should in no way be ignored. The present findings may have a significant effect on the existing public health system and contribute to the prevention and treatment efforts. For instance, the family nurse who is able to improve the level of care offered to the patient and takes on the responsibility for the health and well-being of the whole family, should practice preventive health programs and provide preventive psychological treatment for the families of soldiers on active service.

Undoubtedly, the results of the present study should be taken into account in the development of programs and distribution of mental health resources within the military community. While the focus is normally being made on the mental health of returning veterans, increased efforts should be made to improve and advance the mental health services for military family members.

References

Mansfield, A. J., Kaufman, J. S., Marshall, S.W., Gaynes, B. N., Morrissey, J. P., & Engel, C. C. The New England Journal of Medicine. (2010, January 14). Deployment and the Use of Mental Health Services among U.S. Army Wives. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from  http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/362/2/101