More PTSD research needed for diggers

New treatments are needed for traumatised young war veterans whose service should automatically be noted on hospital and medical records, experts say.

'We need to recognise that about one-third of folks never do good in treatment and then we need to have a concentrated mission to get better outcomes,' University of Adelaide's Professor Sandy McFarlane told AAP.

With in editorial in Monday's Medical Journal of Australia, he wrote which the medical community owes it to the memory of traumatised World War 1 survivors to diligently treat those suffering post-traumatic stress disorder from recent conflicts.

Co-written by Professor David Forbes, beginning with the University of Melbourne, the editorial says there was often little empathy regarding the psychological wounds of this very original diggers even though community now knows better.

But considerably more research is needed into effective treatments for veterans who didn't have survived multiple traumas, they said.

'PTSD is typically a multifaceted disorder, in which biological, psychological and social components are entwined and must therefore be regarded as in a recovery strategy.'

They cited an overview into US military PTSD treatments that found little hard evidence for the effectiveness of frequently used programs, which can include resilience training and psychological debriefing.

'The only approach made to come to life by the research was post-deployment screening, a technique used by the Australian Defence Force since 1998.'

Prof McFarlane is about to start a research study of 25,000 members who have left the ADF since 2010 to recognize barriers for their seeking help.



Early recognition of PTSD is important while adequate training for medical and social anxiety staff to assist them know about various manifestations of PTSD is critical, they said.

'Medical providers are often oblivious to the military service of discharged veterans, that's why it's also crucial that this info is routinely requested.'

http://www.ptsdsupport.net/ptsd2.html

GPs and hospitals should automatically find out if a patient has served within the ADF, Prof McFarlane said.