Date of Award

8-2020

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Management (DMgt)

First Advisor

Larry M. Starr, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Anthony Cosenza, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Dominick Volini, Ph.D.

Abstract

Currently there are 17,964,242 million Veterans living in the U.S. Around 50% of these Veterans are over 65 years of age. Many U.S. service members – both active and retired, experience trauma and dysfunction in restructuring their lives. Mental health problems are reported in over 50% of Veterans both in active service and retired. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), ten times more suicides are reported among Veterans who did not register with the VA compared to those who do register. Longer deployments, shorter times at home between the deployments and combat exposure are the greatest contributors of physical and psychological health problems. Combat exposure has been linked with most cases of PSTD. This creates a greater need for mental health services to Veterans than any other forms of treatment. Due to the complex nature of Veterans population, characterized by an aging majority and location of many Veterans in rural areas, delivering mental health services is a huge challenge for the VA. The VA has been making efforts to ensure that all Veterans can access mental health services from where they are. Out of these efforts, integration of telehealth services to improve access to mental health care services has yielded promising results but this is not without challenges. This dissertation explores the current practices, perceptions and challenges of telehealth in the treatment of mental health in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Comments

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Management in Strategic Leadership at Thomas Jefferson University

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