Abstract

Suicide among United States military personnel has doubled since 2002, and in 2008, the military suicide rate topped the general population rate for the first time in history. Realizing the enormity of the problem, Congress appropriated over one billion to fund veteran suicide prevention programs between 2005 and 2016. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, the suicide rate for veterans rose a staggering 80% during this time-frame, necessitating the need to explore innovative and forward-thinking approaches that might mitigate the crisis. Researchers are studying the clinical relevance between morally transgressive actions and the increase in self-harm. Moral Injury (MI) is a relatively new term, being used to explain the mental anguish created by the complex and chaotic environment of combat. Thus, validation of the concept of MI in veteran healthcare may lead to enhanced understanding, improved screening, and treatment for those affected.

Author Details

Michael Cox, DNP, MHA, RN; Vonda Skjolsvik, DNP, RN CHSE

Sigma Membership

Gamma Eta

Lead Author Affiliation

Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama, USA

Type

DNP Capstone Project

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

N/A

Research Approach

N/A

Keywords:

Moral Injury, Veteran Suicide, Battle Buddies

Advisor

Buckner, Ellen

Degree

DNP

Degree Grantor

Samford University

Degree Year

2020

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2020-07-17

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