Transcript Cross-Cultural comparison of Veteran Healthcare in the USA

A Student-Driven Applied Analysis of Medical Anthropology
Anthropology Summer Ethnographic Field School 2011
WGVU Studio, Grand Valley State University
June 22, 2011
Objectives
 Learn and use anthropological methods
 Assess healthcare status of veterans in West Michigan
 Intervention to improve veterans health & well-being
 Share findings with concerned parties
Why is this study important?
 22.7 million veterans in US, over 700, 000 in MI
 Veterans not well represented in healthcare literature
 Veterans may not be receiving adequate healthcare
 Veterans’ healthcare status needs assessment
Why is this study important? Continued.
 Veterans rate of suicide is twice as high compared to the
general population
 20% of returning veterans have PTSD or major depression
 12.7% of the U.S. population are veterans, yet 23% of the
homeless population are veterans
Demographics
 Michigan ranks 11th in veteran population
 MI spends the least per capita on veterans of any state
 Only 7% of veterans are females
Demographics: Continued
 The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA)
 Over 800 primary care clinics
 The largest healthcare service in the U.S. for veterans
 About 30% of veterans use the VA
 In MI, around 17% of veterans use the VA
Methods of the Study
 Veterans were contacted using convenience sampling
 Students were sent in groups to interview these veterans
 Video and Audio recorded
 Ethnographic reports
 Questionnaires
 Life histories, participant observation and
 Focus group discussions
Methods: Interviews
 5 groups of students conducted interviews
 53 veterans were interviewed over a 5 week period of time
 Each interview lasted from 30 to 120 minutes
 Each group kept a field diary and wrote an ethnographic
report
 These findings were compiled into a final report
Qualitative Findings
Most veterans do not use VA healthcare
 Unaware of available benefits
 Don’t feel deserving of benefits if healthy
 Difficulty with paperwork and policies
 Inefficiency in receiving benefits
 Lack of contact with VA post-service
Qualitative Findings
Those who have utilized VA services are often dissatisfied
with their experience
 Disparities in quality of facilities across Michigan
 West Michigan facilities outdated and unable to meet
demand
 Inconvenient VA hospital and clinic locations
 Lack of continuity with primary healthcare provider
 Presence of foreign-born medical professionals within VA
facilities may limit communication
Findings: Combat Vs. Marital Status
According to the study, veterans that saw combat had significantly higher
divorce rates and lower marriage rates than veterans that did not see combat.
Findings: Age Vs. Transitioning Home
N=98
According to this study, the youngest group of veterans, aged 44 or below, are
having a harder transitioning home than older veterans did.
Findings: Age Vs. Health Problems
According to the study, the youngest veterans had a higher rate of having
health problems then the older veterans.
Findings: VA Benefits Vs. Job Satisfaction
According to this study, veterans that use VA benefits had a higher rate of
dissatisfaction with their jobs than veterans that do not use VA benefits.
Field Experience
• Gaining a greater
appreciation of veterans
• Becoming personally
invested in veteran well-being
• Overcoming the obstacles of
participant observations
Recommendations
 Continue flexible and adaptive GI Bill
 Improve advertisement according to region’s needs
 Encourage doctors to work with VA
 Provide adequate debriefing for returning veterans
Recommendations
 Include marriage and family counseling benefits
 Make VFW and American Legion posts more attractive
 Increase community and employment support
Conclusions
 Marital counseling for combat veterans is needed.
 Thorough debriefing for veterans coming home
 Needs a comprehensive follow-up
 Mental health awareness should be improved.
 Consistent PTSD screening
 All veterans need to be acknowledged and appreciated for
their service and their sacrifices.
What We Learned
 Encouraged to learn more about veterans
 Gained an increased respect for veterans
 The military shapes the lives of veterans
 Most veterans take pride in their time in the military
 Their healthcare can be inadequate for their specific needs
Thank You!
 The Field School like to show its gratitude to the following:
 Veterans
 Goodwill organization
 Grand Rapids Home for Veterans: Tiffany Carr
 WGVU: Timothy Eernisse
 CLAS Dean: Frederick Antczak
 Human Research Protection Committee - HRPC
 Center for Scholarly Creative Excellence - CSCE
 Dean of Students Office: Steven Lipnicki
 Director of Institutional Analysis: Phillip Batty
 Voiceover: John Howard
 Department of Anthropology
Discussion