Paat Yok-Fong, Dorado Angela V, Myers Nathan W, Martinez Andie, Scully Shawna
Department of Social Work, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA.
New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Jan 22;13(3):220. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13030220.
Seeking mental health care is crucial for supporting effective reintegration among veterans. The U.S.-Mexico border presents a compelling and urgent case for study due to its proximity to economically marginalized and medically underserved areas, where the availability and accessibility of services are often limited.
This study explored veterans' mental health challenges and factors that hindered their adjustment to civilian life on the U.S.-Mexico border.
A total of 36 veterans were recruited using purposive sampling from a mental health agency located in Southwestern Texas on the U.S.-Mexico border between November 2023 and May 2024 to complete an in-depth semi-structured interview and a brief survey.
Using thematic analysis, we found six themes associated with our study: (1) mental health struggles, (2) enduring military-influenced mindset, (3) adjustment to civilian life, (4) strained family relationships, (5) past victimization and discrimination, and (6) barriers to opportunities and mental health care.
Understanding veterans' mental health well-being and their prospects for integration into the civilian world is critical for identifying risk and protective factors that can inform the development of targeted health promotion initiatives, strengthen the implementation of equitable health care efforts, and support strategies for enhancing treatment access that address the unique needs of veterans in the border region. Policy and practice implications are discussed.
寻求心理健康护理对于支持退伍军人有效重新融入社会至关重要。美墨边境因其靠近经济边缘化和医疗服务不足的地区而成为一个引人关注且紧迫的研究案例，在这些地区，服务的可获得性和可及性往往有限。
本研究探讨了退伍军人的心理健康挑战以及阻碍他们在美国 - 墨西哥边境适应平民生活的因素。
2023年11月至2024年5月期间，从位于美国 - 墨西哥边境得克萨斯州西南部的一家心理健康机构采用目的抽样法招募了36名退伍军人，以完成一次深入的半结构化访谈和一项简短调查。
通过主题分析，我们发现了与本研究相关的六个主题：（1）心理健康困扰，（2）持久的受军事影响的思维模式，（3）适应平民生活，（4）紧张的家庭关系，（5）过去的受害经历和歧视，以及（6）机会和心理健康护理的障碍。
了解退伍军人的心理健康状况以及他们融入平民世界的前景对于识别风险和保护因素至关重要，这些因素可为制定有针对性的健康促进举措、加强公平医疗保健工作的实施以及支持改善治疗可及性的策略提供信息，以满足边境地区退伍军人的独特需求。讨论了政策和实践意义。
