Health care's familiarity with military culture critical to improving care for veterans

Health care systems and providers need to understand the unique realities of military culture in order to work effectively with veterans and military families, according to the findings of a study by a University at Buffalo research team.

Results of the paper published in the journal Military Behavioral Health suggest that health care and mental health care providers and staff should receive training that provides them with enough knowledge to understand the military's culture and values and how that belief system also affects the veterans' transition from a service member identity to a civilian identity.

The paper is among the first to also document the necessity of addressing the many difficulties facing military families in the community, everything from challenges arising when family members are deployed to their return home following their discharge.

"Military service - and combat experience in particular - is a profound life experience that many civilians do not understand - and veterans are well aware of this," says Lisa Butler, associate professor in the UB School of Social Work and the paper's first author.