Treatment Effectiveness for Veterans with PTSD

Methods and results completed by assignment nation (would not let me submit)
This has the references included. Please get same person to submit, if possible

Treatment Effectiveness for Veterans with PTSD: Methods and Results
Research Procedure

The study commences with a keyword search to retrieve studies focused on PTSD among veterans. The researcher searched credible databases, including PubMed, ProQuest, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Medline. The keywords informing the search include veterans, PTSD, mental health literacy for veterans, treatments for PTSD, history of posttraumatic stress disorder, factors affecting the rates of PTSD among veterans, and symptoms of PTSD. The research focuses on articles published in the last five years to ensure the information is relevant and positioned to improve the treatment of PTSD in veterans. The keyword search on the databases led to the selection of 21 articles. The researcher narrowed the number of articles by comparing the abstract to the research purpose and codes reflecting the key concepts. The assessment further prioritized articles focusing on veterans who took part in recent tragedies such as the September 9 attack and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The analysis concluded with seven publications focused on the research purpose and better positioned to respond to the research question.

Types of Subjects
The study prioritized publications that focused on veterans who took part in the 9/11 attack and the veterans affected by wars in Afghanistan and France. The two events identified in these assessments occurred in the recent past. The self-reported information or other research measures focusing on this group are more convenient because the data for the group highlighted by the researcher is widely documented. Those affected can be contacted and give crucial data concerning the factors that cause PTSD and its treatments. The populations represent groups that experienced a significant scale of military combat. Husband, Ahmed & Dell (2020) report that over 350000 veterans involved in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq returned to their everyday lives having contracted PTSD. The subjects are identified from previous research derived through analysis focusing on the abstracts and participants. Abstracts and selection of participants considering veterans of the 9/11 and Afghanistan and Iraq wars are used by the researcher to form inferences concerning the prevalence of PTSD and the treatment efficiency of PTSD among veterans. The research publications used by the researcher to inform the research question focus on the highlighted groups of veterans. The researcher excluded articles that did not focus on these groups from other articles guiding the analysis focusing on the themes of war veterans, the -prevalence of PTSD, symptoms of PTSD, and the treatment of PTSD.

Data collection, Recording, and Analysis Methods
The data is collected using the qualitative content analysis procedure. Content analysis determines the presence of themes or concepts in available qualitative data (Selvi, 2019). The researcher assesses the presence and relationships of the concepts or themes connected to the research questions. The codes used in the analysis include the prevalence of PTSD, the treatment of PTSD, veterans of the 9/11 attack, veterans of the Afghanistan wars and Iraq wars, and symptoms of PTSD. The data sources informing this research study include peer-reviewed publications published on or after 2015. The analysis of the sources focuses on the presence of codes or themes identified by the researcher that can effectively inform the research question. The findings are categorized based on the codes and recorded to find gaps in interventions targeting those with PTSD and improving PTSD treatment.
The data in this research is gathered using content analysis based on the themes of the prevalence of PTSD among veterans and treatment effectiveness. A search on credible databases included EMBASE and CINAHL leads to 21 publications out of 50 sources focusing on the subject matter. The researcher then considers the date of publication and the content of the abstracts in the articles pinpointed by the researcher when selecting the articles set to inform the research question. The researcher identifies articles published on or after 2015 where war veterans participate or are the point of focus. The veterans who experienced the 9/11 attack and Afghanistan and Iraq wars encompass the inclusion criteria because their experiences are recent and are expected to include details of PTSD treatments or relevant attitudes on using PTSD treatment solutions. The eventual list consists of 7 publications covering the themes of war experiences, the prevalence of PTSD, symptoms of PTSD, and treatment. The data is recorded in categories based on the codes identified by the researcher. Inferences are further drawn after analyzing the codes and tabulating the outcomes.

Methods for Ethical Treatment
The content analysis relies on data archives focused on the subject matter. Some of the researchers responsible for the primary research used to inform this content analysis exposed the participants’ personal views. One of the publications revealed the identity of the participants (Cowlishaw et al., 2022). In this research study, anonymization is observed to maintain the owners’ privacy of the information used to inform the set of publications for content analysis. In the analysis, a log of aggregations, replacements, and removals is privately stored to protect important personal information (Meyer, 2018). The data used in research is sensitive hence the aggregation and replacement. An ethical concern beyond the control of this study that arises because of concealing personal information includes a misleading reinterpretation of the data that skews the implications of the inferences derived from research.

Results
The assessment suggests that the EMDR therapy, when used twice daily in ten days, leads to significant symptom reduction, evidenced by the IES-R measurements (Williston & Vogt, 2021). The same outcome is reported by Haagen et al. (2015), who assesses weekly treatment consisting of eighteen to twenty sessions spread over 5 to 6 months. The of the EMDR therapy and the weekly administration of the therapy has positive test outcomes. The improved status quo is sustained a year later, as proven by the researchers when they follow up on the participants (Cowlishaw et al., 2022). The findings suggest that daily treatment using EMDR facilitates an accelerated healing process when combined with other programs (De Jongh et al., 2019; Williston & Vogt, 2021). Williston & Vogt (2021) reveal that all the members who received intensive daily EMDR treatment received PTSD treatment successfully before referral to the soldier center. Three of the participants in the research compiled by Williston & Vogt (2021) without daily intensive treatment, and the treatment was unsuccessful based on self-reported data.
Veterans who reported having unsuccessful PTSD treatment on previous occasions showed significant improvements based on findings by Morland et al. (2019) and Allan V. Horwitz (2018), who focused on administering intense daily treatment of EMDR therapy. In other instances, treatment became more efficient when patients had their therapists or treatment centers changed by the moderators. The explanation of the improvement noticed is not clarified in any of the publications. Spoont et al. (2021) present an interesting perspective where therapists improved treatment administration by monitoring videotaped sessions when handling the patient and assessing their treatment fidelity. The publications collectively show a strong correlation between treatment fidelity and the effect size of the session, or the extent of the relationship between the patient and the therapist (Spoont et al., 2021; Stefanovics et al., 2020; Morland et al., 2019).
An assessment of the treatment for PTSD suggested by different researchers revealed that intensive daily treatment and the weekly treatment factors were equally efficient. The treatments led to a significant reduction in the symptoms linked to PTSD and loosing of the PTSD diagnosis at the end of the treatment period (Stefanovics et al., 2020; Morland et al., 2019). The format of intensive daily treatment facilitates a quick resolution of trauma for people who are stable and could self-regulate while countering their challenging memories within ten days. The researchers established similar outcomes with participants sharing the same characteristics as those in the intensive daily treatment group for the weekly treatment group. The intensive daily condition also assisted veterans facing an extended past of trauma, including people who served in the critical medical care positions during 9/11 and other wars covered by this study (Husband, Ahmed & Dell, 2020).
In cases of extended trauma, the ten-day period proved insufficient to address all the traumatic instances. The healthcare practitioners effectively attended to victims using an expanded plan for treatment meant to accelerate the process of healing (De Jongh et al., 2019). The intensive treatment group spanning over ten days did not indicate any diagnosis of PTSD after ten days. In addition, the researchers do not report any adverse experiences after receiving EMDR treatment intensively a day or weekly.

Discussion and Conclusion
A keyword search on credible databases helps narrow down to seven relevant articles when conducting content analysis. The on the issue of PTSD among veterans. PTSD is highly prevalent among war veterans, hence this research study’s focus. Content analysis is used to develop useful inferences to improve interventions targeting PTSD patients. Content analysis organizes findings into categories, including treatment of PTSD, the prevalence of PTSD, symptoms of PTSD, and veterans. The researcher administers groups that faced the 9/11 and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars to improve the quality of the research since studies on the identified sample are well documented. The researcher observes ethical safeguards to protect any personal information through aggregations, replacements, and removals where necessary.
The findings reveal the efficiency of the EMDR therapy, which is highly efficient for stable subjects when intense treatment sessions are distributed over ten days. Daily intense treatment sessions of EDMR therapy alongside other healing programs bolster the chances of healing from PTSD. EMDR therapy administered through weekly schedules over a is also effective in treating PTSD. Both approaches demonstrate sustained gains within a year. EMDR therapy is described by researchers as more efficient when combined with other therapeutic programs. However, instances of unsuccessful weekly administration of EMDR therapy were evident. Another positive finding is the review of client sessions by the therapists, which positively impacted the success of the treatment for PTSD patients.
Research gaps are evident in cases involving people with issues of previously extended traumas where a person went through multiple traumatic events. Both the weekly and 10-day programs for EMDR proved insufficient in most cases. Most of the studies interrogated use limited sample sizes for different treatment conditions. Future inquiry targeting to improve treatment or interventions for PTSD should focus on larger sample sizes leading to findings that can be generalized by researchers and policymakers to help people who have PTSD globally. Also, future research should analyze the impact of changing therapists and treatment settings.

References
Allan V. Horwitz. (2018). PTSD: A Short History. Johns Hopkins University Press
https://eds–ebscohost com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook/bmx[email protected]redis

Cowlishaw, S., Metcalf, O., Little, J., Hinton, M., Forbes, D., Varker, T., Agathos, J., Bryant, R. A., McFarlane, A. C., Hopwood, M., Phelps, A. J., Howard, A., Cooper, J., Dell, L., & O’Donnell, M. L. (2022). Cross-lagged analyses of anger and PTSD symptoms among veterans in treatment. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 14(2), 336345. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1037/tra0001084

De Jongh,A., Amann,B.L., Hofmann,A., Farrell,D., & Lee,C.W. (2019). The status of EMDR therapy in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder 30 years after its introduction.Journal of EMDR Practice and Research,13(4), 261-269. doi:10.1891/1933-3196.13.4.261

Selvi, A. F. (2019). Qualitative content analysis. InThe Routledge handbook of research methods in applied linguistics(pp. 440-452). Routledge.

Haagen,J.F., Smid,G.E., Knipscheer,J.W., & Kleber,R.J. (2015). The efficacy of recommended treatments for veterans with PTSD: A metaregression analysis.Clinical Psychology Review,40, 184-194. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2015.06.008

Husband, A., Ahmed, A., & Dell, C. A. (2020). An exploratory case study of the impact of psychiatric service dogs on problematic substance use among PTSD-diagnosed veterans. Journal of Substance Use, 25(2), 113117. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1080/14659891.2019.1664663

Meyer,M.N. (2018). Practical tips for ethical data sharing.Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science,1(1), 131-144. doi:10.1177/2515245917747656

Morland LA, Wells SY, Glassman LH, Grubbs KM, Mackintosh M-A, Golshan S, Sohn MJ, Thorp SR, Savage UC, & Acierno RE. (2019). What Do Veterans Want? Understanding Veterans’ Preferences for PTSD Treatment Delivery. Military Medicine, 184(1112), 686692.
https://doiorg.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1093/milmed/usz035

Spoont, M., Nelson, D., Kehle-Forbes, S., Meis, L., Murdoch, M., Rosen, C., & Sayer, N. (2021). Racial and ethnic disparities in clinical outcomes six months after receiving a PTSD diagnosis in Veterans Health Administration. Psychological Services, 18(4), 584594. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1037/ser0000463.supp (Supplemental)

Stefanovics, E. A., Potenza, M. N., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2020). PTSD and obesity in US military veterans: Prevalence, health burden, and suicidality. Psychiatry Research, 291. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113242

Williston, S. K., & Vogt, D. S. (2021). Mental health literacy in veterans: What do US military veterans know about PTSD and its treatment? Psychological Services. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1037/ser0000501.supp (Supplemental)