Kopacz Marek S, McCarten Janet M, Pollitt Michael J
From the US Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua, New York, and the US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Chaplain Center, Hampton, Virginia.
South Med J. 2014 Oct;107(10):661-4. doi: 10.14423/SMJ.0000000000000182.
To examine the extent to which chaplains interact with military veterans at increased risk of suicide and select characteristics related to those at-risk veterans who present for chaplaincy services.
The nationwide network of chaplains affiliated with the Veterans Health Administration (n = 990) was e-mailed a letter inviting those who have contact with at-risk veterans to complete a survey. This letter included an Internet link, connecting respondents to an online survey collection service. One hundred eighteen chaplains (11.91%) responded to the survey.
More than half of the respondents reported that veterans at increased risk of suicide constitute either <5% or 5% to 10% of the overall population of veterans under their care. At-risk veterans are most often identified based on open admission of suicidal behavior or red flags in their treatment file. Veterans typically do not look for chaplains from their own faith tradition, will seek care from >1 chaplain, and present at a moderate-to-high level of risk.
The present study finds that some at-risk veterans look to chaplains for supportive services. The findings also allow for opportunities for future research.
探讨牧师与自杀风险增加的退伍军人互动的程度，并选择与寻求牧师服务的高危退伍军人相关的特征。
向退伍军人健康管理局下属的全国牧师网络（n = 990）发送电子邮件，邀请那些与高危退伍军人有接触的人完成一项调查。这封信包含一个互联网链接，将受访者连接到一个在线调查收集服务。118名牧师（11.91%）回复了调查。
超过一半的受访者报告称，自杀风险增加的退伍军人占其护理的退伍军人总数的比例不到5%或为5%至10%。高危退伍军人最常根据自杀行为的公开承认或其治疗档案中的危险信号来识别。退伍军人通常不会从自己的宗教传统中寻找牧师，会向不止一名牧师寻求护理，并且呈现出中度至高度的风险。
本研究发现，一些高危退伍军人会向牧师寻求支持性服务。这些发现也为未来的研究提供了机会。
