Stigma and Health Services Use Among Veterans and Military Personnel

  • Lauren K. Richards
  • Elizabeth M. Goetter
  • Magdalena Wojtowicz
  • Naomi M. Simon
Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Current Clinical Psychiatry book series (CCPSY)

Abstract

Despite high rates of physical and mental health difficulties, veterans have low rates of health service utilization. Among other barriers to accessing needed treatment, stigma is associated with poorer quality of healthcare and lower intentions to seek treatment for health concerns. Healthcare-related stigma is prevalent among veterans and includes privacy concerns and a variety of personal beliefs regarding mental illness and treatment that deter them from seeking services. Despite efforts targeted toward reducing stigma, progress in this area has been limited, and increasing access to needed physical and mental healthcare among veterans and service members remains a persistent concern. This chapter explores the various stigma faced by today’s veterans, synthesizes the extant research on stigma-reducing strategies, and provides our recommendations for future directions. Avenues for future work include the development of prospective research designs to more completely examine the impact of stigma on service use, the development of novel approaches to interventions that expand upon existing models, and a focus on normalizing health and treatment seeking in military settings.

Keywords

Veterans OEF/OIF Military Stigma Treatment access Healthcare Mental health TBI Post-traumatic stress disorder 
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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Lauren K. Richards
    • 1
  • Elizabeth M. Goetter
    • 1
  • Magdalena Wojtowicz
    • 1
  • Naomi M. Simon
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of PsychiatryHarvard Medical School, Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Home Base ProgramBostonUSA

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