Australia is introducing a purpose built screening tool for former members of the Australian Defence Force from July 2014, with a focus on mental health as well as health risks related to specific deployments. My question is about the most successful approach to health screening for younger veterans in primary care/family medicine, e.g. self-report versus face-to-face interview; gender and profession of the interviewer. Insights from research and practice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Dear Stacey, I think, a face to face interview is the most successful way, because you can respond to the impressions you get from the person sitting in front of you and perceive also non-verbal signs, especially body language. It doesn't depend on gender, but on the way you ask and the time you can devote to it. I suppose,a questionnaire is used to receive basic information. It could be helpful to know something about specific deployments, but the subjective report of the young veteran and how he explains his activities to you is more important.
Kind regards, Christa
Veterans are a system savvy group, and understand the structure of healthcare that can start from a questionnaire. As a result we have found that in person questioning, with directed questions based on the veterans age and experiences, was the best way to go. Here is a link to a recent journal I edited on the topic of military health issues: http://issuu.com/medchi/docs/mmvol13issue3 hope it is helpful.
Tyler
Thanks for your contributions!
In Australia, a comprehensive health assessment is often undertaken as a 2-step process with a practice nurse undertaking the information gathering component and scheduling a medical consultation a few days later. While our previous work with WWII veterans underscores the acceptability of this approach to older veterans, it's less clear how younger veterans might respond to a 2-step process.
Our team is obviously keen to ensure the best match between the health professional administering the assessment tool and the clinical presentation of the younger veteran. Thank you for sharing your clinical and/or research experience. Stacey
I would like to acknowledge colleagues at Veterans Affairs Canada and Queen's University for their personal messages, emails and expert advice. The Australian Departments of Defence and Veterans Affairs has also been generous in sharing their time and knowledge with the research team.
Thanks to all! Stacey
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) post-discharge GP health assessment can be downloaded from the Department of Veterans' Affairs At-ease professional website.
The health assessment is also available as a letter-writer template in Best Practice and Medical Director clinical software programs. Educational resources to support the health assessment are being finalised for review by the RACGP and APNA (professional bodies for GPs and Practice Nurses, respectively).
Thank you for your interest.
Regards,
Stacey
http://at-ease.dva.gov.au/professionals/assess-and-treat/adf-post-discharge-gp-health-assessment/
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