An examination of physical illness and health service use in homeless veterans with PTSD, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and/or bipolar disorder in Nebraska

ABSTRACT

This study examined physical health problems and health service use among homeless veterans with a reported mental health diagnosis. The current sample included a total of 156 homeless male veterans living in Nebraska. Each participant completed a single structured interview with questions pertaining to sociodemographics, clinical characteristics, and use of health services. The results showed that veterans with mental health diagnoses endorsed several physical health problems not endorsed by veterans without such a diagnosis. Participants with a mental health diagnosis were also more likely to report the use of several health services for treatment of medical, mental health, and substance abuse problems. These findings highlight the association of mental illness with physical health problems among homeless veterans and suggest that further work may be needed to address the unique health care needs of this population.

KEYWORDS:

• Homelessness
• veterans
• mental illness

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Elizabeth Lyden, MS, for statistical analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Sarah Norbeck is a Postdoctoral Clinical Neuropsychology Resident at a private practice and a former Clinical Psychology Intern at the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System.

Haley Schuster is a third-year medical student at Creighton University School of Medicine.

David Driscoll is a Health Science Specialist at VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System.

Sriram Ramaswamy is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Creighton University School of Medicine and Staff Psychiatrist at VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the VA New England Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical Center and Nebraska Educational Biomedical Research Association.