Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Dec;97(12):2143-5.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.115436. Epub 2007 Oct 30.

US Department of Veterans Affairs disability policies for posttraumatic stress disorder: administrative trends and implications for treatment, rehabilitation, and research

B Christopher Frueh  1 , Anouk L Grubaugh, Jon D Elhai, Todd C Buckley
Affiliations

US Department of Veterans Affairs disability policies for posttraumatic stress disorder: administrative trends and implications for treatment, rehabilitation, and research

B Christopher Frueh et al. Am J Public Health. 2007 Dec.

Abstract

An accumulating body of empirical data suggests that current Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) psychiatric disability and rehabilitation policies for combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are problematic. In combination, recent administrative trends and data from epidemiological and clinical studies suggest theses policies are countertherapeutic and hinder research efforts to advance our knowledge regarding PTSD. Current VA disability policies require fundamental reform to bring them into line with modern science and medicine, including current empirically supported concepts of resilience and psychiatric rehabilitation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • VA disability policies and posttraumatic morbidity.
    Rosen GM, Spitzer RL. Rosen GM, et al. Am J Public Health. 2008 May;98(5):775; author reply 775-6. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2008.133751. Epub 2008 Apr 1. Am J Public Health. 2008. PMID: 18381981 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • Military-related PTSD, current disability policies, and malingering.
    Marx BP, Miller MW, Sloan DM, Litz BT, Kaloupek DG, Keane TM. Marx BP, et al. Am J Public Health. 2008 May;98(5):773-4; author reply 774-5. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.133223. Epub 2008 Apr 1. Am J Public Health. 2008. PMID: 18381982 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

References

    1. Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. PTSD Compensation and Military Service. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2007.
    1. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. Review of State Variances in VA Disability Compensation Payments (#05-00765-137). Washington, DC: Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General; 2005.
    1. Frueh BC, Elhai JD, Gold PB, et al. Disability compensation seeking among veterans evaluated for posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychiatr Serv. 2003;54: 84–91. - PubMed
    1. Sayer NA, Spoont M, Nelson D. Veterans seeking disability benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder: who applies and the self-reported meaning of disability compensation. Soc Sci Med. 2004;58: 2133–2143. - PubMed
    1. US Government Accountability Office. Veterans’ Disability Benefits: Long-Standing Claims Processing Challenges Persist (#GAO-07–512T). Washington, DC: US Government Accountability Office; 2007.

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources