Post-traumatic stress disorder treatment still lacking for veterans

Researchers say that U.S. veterans continue to fight barriers as they seek treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder,

Statistics show that between 2002 and 2008, nearly 50,000 veterans from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars received diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder. But the study authors found. fewer than 10 percent of those completed the recommended treatment of 10 to 12 weekly sessions within four months; the number only grew to fewer than 30 percent over a year,

Amongst all veterans, some of them such as males, veterans who are under the age of 25, those who live in rural areas and those who got their diagnoses at primary-care clinics and needed referrals to mental health programs are less likely to receive recommended care.

The study report was published online Feb. 9 in the Journal of Traumatic Stress.