Cultural Competency in Healthcare: Veterans

Service members who were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001 face serious challenges in readjusting after returning home, while Gulf War and Vietnam veterans are facing long term health effects from war. This collection presents findings on the most critical challenges facing U.S. service members, and explores how to best support returning troops, veterans, and their families.

NCVAS supports planning, analysis, and decision-making activities through the collection, validation, analysis, and dissemination of key statistics on Veteran population and VA programs.

Within the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Office of Public Health brings a public health approach to protecting the health of Veterans and staff.Within VA, public health is the science and practice of promoting health and preventing disease among Veteran and VA staff populations. In this context, health can be affected by natural or human-made environments, present and past occupations, place in society, gender, and other social or individual characteristics.

The items in the Veterans Health A-Z Index represent popular topics, frequent inquiries and areas of critical importance to Veterans and their caregivers.

Women Veterans Health Care addresses the health care needs of women Veterans and works to ensure that timely, equitable, high-quality, comprehensive health care services are provided in a sensitive and safe environment at VA health facilities nationwide.

Johnson, B. S., Boudiab, L. D., Freundl, M., Anthony, M., Gmerek, G. B., & Carter, J. (2013). Enhancing Veteran-centered care: A Guide for Nurses in Non-VA Settings. AJN The American Journal of Nursing, 113(7), 24–39.

"The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Health Equity is proud to join with the American Journal of Public Health to bring focus on the health equity issues specific to our nation's Veterans through the release of the VA Health Equity Supplement, American Journal of Public Health September 2014."

Authoritative mental health information and resources for Veterans and their families. The Guide to VA Mental Health Services for Veterans and Families (also available in Spanish) is intended for Veterans, Veteran family members, members of Veterans Services Organizations, or members of other groups interested in VA mental health care.

The Veterans Crisis Line connects Veterans in crisis and their families and friends with qualified, caring Department of Veterans Affairs responders through a confidential toll-free hotline, online chat, or text. Veterans and their loved ones can call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, chat online, or send a text message to 838255 to receive confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Support for deaf and hard of hearing individuals is available.

VA Mobile Health aims to improve the health of Veterans by providing technologies that expand clinical care beyond the traditional office visit. Apps are developed for both Veterans and VA care teams, offering safe and secure mobile access to patient data, and providing more opportunities for Veterans to be active participants in their health care.

Give an Hour's mission focuses on the psychological needs of military personnel and their families. Give an Hour™ connects US Military personnel and their families with free mental health services.

MedlinePlus links to health information from the National Institutes of Health and other federal government agencies. MedlinePlus also links to health information from non-government Web sites.