Well-being of Canadian Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Veteran well-being study
Background The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have disproportionally affected different population groups. Veterans are more likely to have pre-existing mental health conditions compared to the general Canadian population, experience compounded stressors resulting from disruptions to familial, soc...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2022-07-01
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| Series: | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.2012374 |
| _version_ | 1797895797187018752 |
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| author | J. Don Richardson Kate St Cyr Callista Forchuk Jenny J. W. Liu Rachel A. Plouffe Tri Le Dominic Gargala Erisa Deda Vanessa Soares Fardous Hosseiny Patrick Smith Gabrielle Dupuis Maya Roth Andrew Bridgen Michelle Marlborough Rakesh Jetly Alexandra Heber Ruth Lanius Anthony Nazarov |
| author_facet | J. Don Richardson Kate St Cyr Callista Forchuk Jenny J. W. Liu Rachel A. Plouffe Tri Le Dominic Gargala Erisa Deda Vanessa Soares Fardous Hosseiny Patrick Smith Gabrielle Dupuis Maya Roth Andrew Bridgen Michelle Marlborough Rakesh Jetly Alexandra Heber Ruth Lanius Anthony Nazarov |
| author_sort | J. Don Richardson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have disproportionally affected different population groups. Veterans are more likely to have pre-existing mental health conditions compared to the general Canadian population, experience compounded stressors resulting from disruptions to familial, social, and occupational domains, and were faced with changes in health-care delivery (e.g. telehealth). The objectives of this study are to assess (a) the mental health impact of COVID-19 and related life changes on the well-being of Veterans and (b) perceptions of and satisfaction with changes in health-care treatments and delivery during the pandemic. Methods A total of 1136 Canadian Veterans participated in an online survey. Participants completed questions pertaining to their mental health and well-being, lifestyle changes, and concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as experiences and satisfaction with health-care treatments during the pandemic. Results Results showed that 55.9% of respondents reported worse mental health functioning compared to before the pandemic. The frequency of probable posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, alcohol use disorder, and suicidal ideation were 34.2%, 35.3%, 26.8%, 13.0%, and 22.0%, respectively. Between 38.6% and 53.1% of respondents attributed their symptoms as either directly related to or exacerbated by the pandemic. Approximately 18% of respondents reported using telehealth for mental health services during the pandemic, and among those, 72.8% indicated a choice to use telehealth even after the pandemic. Conclusions This study found that Veterans experienced worsening mental health as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of telehealth services was widely endorsed by mental health treatment-seeking Veterans who transitioned to virtual care during the pandemic. Our findings have important clinical and programmeadministrator implications, emphasizing the need to reach out to support veterans, especially those with pre-existing mental health conditions and to enhance and maintain virtual care even post-pandemic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T07:31:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cd0273cdb5974aa0b539e9bbb8c9d141 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2000-8066 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T07:31:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Psychotraumatology |
| spelling | doaj.art-cd0273cdb5974aa0b539e9bbb8c9d1412023-02-23T15:58:10ZengTaylor & Francis GroupEuropean Journal of Psychotraumatology2000-80662022-07-0113110.1080/20008198.2021.20123742012374Well-being of Canadian Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Veteran well-being studyJ. Don Richardson0Kate St Cyr1Callista Forchuk2Jenny J. W. Liu3Rachel A. Plouffe4Tri Le5Dominic Gargala6Erisa Deda7Vanessa Soares8Fardous Hosseiny9Patrick Smith10Gabrielle Dupuis11Maya Roth12Andrew Bridgen13Michelle Marlborough14Rakesh Jetly15Alexandra Heber16Ruth Lanius17Anthony Nazarov18Lawson Health Research InstituteLawson Health Research InstituteLawson Health Research InstituteLawson Health Research InstituteLawson Health Research InstituteLawson Health Research InstituteLawson Health Research InstituteParkwood Institute, St. Joseph’s Health CareLawson Health Research InstituteCentre of Excellence for PTSDCentre of Excellence for PTSDCentre of Excellence for PTSDParkwood Institute, St. Joseph’s Health CareLawson Health Research InstituteWestern UniversityThe Royal’s Institute for Mental Health ResearchUniversity of OttawaWestern UniversityLawson Health Research InstituteBackground The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have disproportionally affected different population groups. Veterans are more likely to have pre-existing mental health conditions compared to the general Canadian population, experience compounded stressors resulting from disruptions to familial, social, and occupational domains, and were faced with changes in health-care delivery (e.g. telehealth). The objectives of this study are to assess (a) the mental health impact of COVID-19 and related life changes on the well-being of Veterans and (b) perceptions of and satisfaction with changes in health-care treatments and delivery during the pandemic. Methods A total of 1136 Canadian Veterans participated in an online survey. Participants completed questions pertaining to their mental health and well-being, lifestyle changes, and concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as experiences and satisfaction with health-care treatments during the pandemic. Results Results showed that 55.9% of respondents reported worse mental health functioning compared to before the pandemic. The frequency of probable posttraumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, alcohol use disorder, and suicidal ideation were 34.2%, 35.3%, 26.8%, 13.0%, and 22.0%, respectively. Between 38.6% and 53.1% of respondents attributed their symptoms as either directly related to or exacerbated by the pandemic. Approximately 18% of respondents reported using telehealth for mental health services during the pandemic, and among those, 72.8% indicated a choice to use telehealth even after the pandemic. Conclusions This study found that Veterans experienced worsening mental health as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of telehealth services was widely endorsed by mental health treatment-seeking Veterans who transitioned to virtual care during the pandemic. Our findings have important clinical and programmeadministrator implications, emphasizing the need to reach out to support veterans, especially those with pre-existing mental health conditions and to enhance and maintain virtual care even post-pandemic.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.2012374veteransmental healthwell-beingcovid-19telehealth |
| spellingShingle | J. Don Richardson Kate St Cyr Callista Forchuk Jenny J. W. Liu Rachel A. Plouffe Tri Le Dominic Gargala Erisa Deda Vanessa Soares Fardous Hosseiny Patrick Smith Gabrielle Dupuis Maya Roth Andrew Bridgen Michelle Marlborough Rakesh Jetly Alexandra Heber Ruth Lanius Anthony Nazarov Well-being of Canadian Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Veteran well-being study European Journal of Psychotraumatology veterans mental health well-being covid-19 telehealth |
| title | Well-being of Canadian Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Veteran well-being study |
| title_full | Well-being of Canadian Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Veteran well-being study |
| title_fullStr | Well-being of Canadian Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Veteran well-being study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Well-being of Canadian Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Veteran well-being study |
| title_short | Well-being of Canadian Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic: cross-sectional results from the COVID-19 Veteran well-being study |
| title_sort | well being of canadian veterans during the covid 19 pandemic cross sectional results from the covid 19 veteran well being study |
| topic | veterans mental health well-being covid-19 telehealth |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.2012374 |
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