EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon veterans may be at lower risk for depression or sadness, but they are more likely to die from suicide and opioid overdose than nonveterans, according to a recent state study on veteran health.
“We’re just so focused on the mission,” Laura Follett, a Springfield resident and a 15-year Navy veteran, said. “We’re not necessarily focused on ourselves, you know?”
Follett is one of about 310,000 veterans in Oregon — a group that makes up 10 percent of the adult population. Navigating the medical system is far from the only obstacle for veterans in need of health care. One in four Oregon veterans experience frustration in seeking care for mental health or substance use issues, according to the 200-page health study funded by the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs.
The study is made up of 3,915 veterans from across the state who completed an online questionnaire and 63 veterans who participated in focus groups. The project set out to describe the type and availability of behavioral health services for veterans in Oregon, provide findings regarding facilitators of and barriers to the use of behavioral health services for veterans, and to make recommendations that may result in improved accessibility of behavioral health services by veterans in Oregon.
Some of the notable findings include:
• 1 out of 3 veterans surveyed who felt they needed behavioral health care didn’t seek services because they felt uncomfortable or unsafe.
• Specific needs and expectations of veteran subgroups vary in ways that affect how those veterans seek care. Tribal representatives report a need for services that meet cultural needs with an emphasis on a preference for traditional healing methods and peer support as the most important factors in care-seeking behavior for tribal veterans.
• Sexual harassment and assault impacts service members of all genders, including at least 50 percent of female veterans. Interviewees reported a need for more community-based, gender-specific options in Oregon, particularly for military sexual trauma.
• Oregon veterans ages 18-34 are at the highest risk for suicide. Lane County has the second-highest rate of veteran suicide of all Oregon counties. In 2016, 79 people died by suicide in Lane County — around a fourth of those who died were veterans.
Out of the study’s key findings it offered 19 recommendations to help improve veteran care.
Following one of the study’s recommendations that OHA, ODVA, and the VA Health Care Systems in Oregon should collaborate to develop a cohesive, well-researched, and targeted education and outreach effort to destigmatize behavioral health issues and treatment, OHA and ODVA are taking a statewide tour to learn more from particular communities over the next several months.
As part of the statewide tour, in Eugene the first hour of a community forum will be reserved for LGBTQI-identifying people. This relates to the recommendation that VHA and Vet Centers make plans to build capacity for cultural competency practices with measurable objectives that address the unique needs of groups of veterans, such as tribal, LGBTQI and women.
