A Literature Review of Stigma and Barriers to Mental Health Care in the U. S. Military
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- January 25, 2020
- Creator
-
Garland, Eugene
- Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Public Health Leadership Program
- Abstract
- After 15 years of war and global conflict the need for psychological health care in the U. S. military has risen exponentially. At military medical treatment facilities, the increased demand for psychological health care has outstripped the mental health resources available, thus creating barriers that hamper the delivery of the effective, timely, and appropriate levels of care provided (Glasmeier, Schultheis, Sassi, Chuvala, Bell, Fay, & Fradino, 2016). Despite the increase in demand for mental health services, Sharp et al. estimated 60% of service members in need of mental health care do not seek care in the military; not because of the availability of services, but primarily because of the stigma associated with mental health care. As a result, stigma is perhaps is the biggest factor that deters service members from initiating mental health care (Sharp et al., 2015). In military culture, seeking care for mental health issues is seen as weakness with perceived negative career consequences. Service members quickly develop negative beliefs regarding mental health care and as a consequence, those with psychological distress choose not to pursue mental health treatment because of the stigma and perceptions associated with seeking care. The military’s pervasive belief in “toughing out” psychological distress and not seeking care for mental health issues results in inadequate mental health treatment of service members arguably creating a serious emerging public health issue. It has been well established in the literature that stigma associated with mental health care in the military is a predominant barrier to care. Additionally, a common theme that percolates to the surface is that military leadership and organizational climate are predominant contributors to the stigma barrier associated with service members choosing not to seek mental health care. Leaders tend to judge service members who seek mental health care as broken and often express opinions that the military mission comes before wellness. A more complicated barrier in seeking mental healthcare is the potential negative career consequences on service members. Certain psychological disorders and medical treatment for those conditions can have legitimate repercussions for employment that relate to the ability to accomplish specific missions. Further, some service members perceive that seeking any type of care for general counseling, mental health, or behavioral issues will have similar negative career consequences if leadership becomes aware of their treatment. There is fear that it seeking care will reflect poorly on their performance reports and career (Miggantz, n. d.).
- Date of publication
- May 2017
- Keyword
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Note
- Track: Leadership
- Paper type: Other
- Advisor
- Evarts, Lori
- Reviewer
- Bledsoe, Betsy
- Degree
- Master of Public Health
- Academic concentration
- Public Health
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Graduation year
- 2017
- Language
- Deposit record
- 48012e47-b297-41eb-b8e5-1c478fe06d2c
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