Predictors of general medical and psychological treatment use among a national sample of peacekeeping veterans with health problems
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2006
Journal
Journal of Anxiety Disorders
Volume
21
Issue
4
First Page
580
Last Page
589
URL with Digital Object Identifier
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2006.07.001
Abstract
We investigated general medical and psychological treatment use predictors among peacekeeping veterans with health problems, aiming to find those characteristics most associated with treatment use intensity (i.e., visit counts). One thousand one hundred and thirty-two male Canadian Forces peacekeeping veterans registered with Veterans Affairs for health problems were randomly recruited for a prospective national survey. Regression analyses for treatment use intensity controlled for age, total time deployed and health problems (covariates), and examined the incremental contribution of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity on health service use intensity. Results revealed that after controlling for covariates, the depression and PTSD model was associated with increased medical and psychological treatment use intensity. Medical use intensity was significantly predicted by married status, greater depression and health problems; psychological treatment use intensity was predicted by younger age, greater PTSD severity and health problems. This study highlights the importance of an integrated primary care-mental health service delivery model for veterans.
