Influences of Eating Behaviors on Obesity

This positional paper relied on scholarly peer-reviewed articles to come up with a viable policy change that can ensure veterans receive the treatment they deserve. After the Vietnam War, 15% of Vietnam fighter were currently identified to have suffered from PTSD. It is estimated that in their lifetime, a third of Vietnam Veterans have had severe depression. Approximately 11% of the Saudi Arabian War had PTSD, while 16% of the Veterans involved in the Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom and have PTSD any random year. The above numbers indicate that PTSD in the military is gradually growing to a level that will soon be unmanageable if not treated well. Despite recent improvements in treatment and diagnosis of PTSD and the significance of challenges associated with the disease among US military personnel and veterans, not much is available about the strategic policies for prevention and treatment (Fogger, Moore, & Pickett, 2016).

Maybe the reason could be that PTSD policy research is still underdeveloped despite the fact that knowledge on PTSD has proliferated over the last three decades. However, in addressing the problem, it is widely accepted that there the three barriers to improving the current policies are variability on the number of PTSD cases, long delays between the causes and effects, and PTSD is a multi-organizational challenge. The Proposed Policy Change One concern noted with great interest is the gap between the treatment while in active duty and the civilian status. Additionally, a veteran may be accessing therapy for PTSD in the VA facilities, yet his or her petition for disability related to PTSD may remain pending for long durations. Thus, new policy measure has to be initiated to try and help the veterans and reduce the burden PTSD has on the public budget (Barglow, 2012).

A considerable amount of uncertainty covers the cost and future impact of PTSD among veterans because most of the estimations are derived from only the victims who come forward to report their problems. Agenda setting Contrary to popular belief, relatively few officials in the military, government or Congress are rigid to change. The first step would be to take this suggestion about the policy change to a well-developed institution that is likely to attract the attention of the bodies concerned with the affairs of veterans. An excellent example would be to seek the audience of the Veterans Association or equally engage the secretary of veteran affairs. Design Strategies An enduring challenge confronting policymakers is how to design and modify policies to yield output consistent with policy goals (Stanton & Herscovitch, 2013).

The difficulty would be lessened with a more understanding of how changes to different elements of policy design could impact policy output. The suggested policy will be designed using heuristic features. The heuristic filter is considered a macro-strategy of public policy processes, while studies of policy design necessarily focus on characteristics of public policies (Ben-Zadok, 2013). The model contains a unification factor and has been used in subnational and national governments across the world. However, in other circumstances, the process could include other parties. Therefore, in changing how the VA and DOD function and communicate, the core implementation strategy will rely on active management between the two bodies (Trinidad, 2016). Active management advocates for adequate leadership that advocates for the need for change to effect better service delivery to veterans.

Thus, with proper leadership, the above-suggested policy change would first start by engaging all the stakeholders, planning, considering all the resources needed, managing risks, and later monitoring. Considering essential preconditions and capabilities an inclusive approach, practical use of resources and sound processes would ensure the policy change attains the objectives set before application. Alternatively using a logic model worksheet that offers a range of policy impacts and goals, activities and tactics, and outcomes. Conclusion Going forward, the solution to this problem relies on a broader corporation between the DOD and the VA to help veterans cope with depression and PTSD (Riggs, & Sermanian, 2012). The treatment of this disorder has to involve more of preventive measures for military personnel on active duty, instead of trying to treat it among veterans, which is proving problematic and costly.

The new suggested therapies include cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy (Kehle‐Forbes et al. The new treatment methods should work together with the policy change proposed in this study to help manage PTSD in the military. Breuer, E. , Lee, L. , De Silva, M. , & Lund, C. Using theory of change to design and evaluate public health interventions: a systematic review. , Simiola, V. , Ruzek, J. , & Schnurr, P. P. Evaluation of an implementation model: a national investigation of VA residential programs. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 12(9), 598-604. Gore, K. L. , McCutchan, P. K. Hamblen, J. L. , & Kivlahan, D. PTSD and substance use disorders in veterans. US Department of Veterans Affairs. Lu, M. W. , Plagge, J. M. , Marsiglio, M. , & Sermanian, D. Prevention and care of combat-related PTSD: Directions for future explorations.