Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33547192›Full record

ArticleBMJ military health2022

Variation in health service use by veterans with an accepted disability of post-traumatic stress disorder who had a service record post 1975: a cluster analysis.

Elizabeth Ellen Roughead, E N Ramsay, L M Kalisch Ellett, A Khoo, A Moffatt, N L Pratt

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Article in BMJ military health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Elizabeth Ellen RougheadClinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia libby.roughead@unisa.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6811-8991
E N RamsayClinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
L M Kalisch EllettClinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
A KhooToowong Private Hospital, Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation, The University of Queensland Faculty of Medicine, Herston, Queensland, Australia.
A MoffattClinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
N L PrattClinical and Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe use of health services is likely to vary among veterans with an accepted disability of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), however, the extent of variation is not known. We aimed to determine the extent and type of health services used by veterans with an accepted disability of PTSD.

methodsThe cohort included veterans who served post 1975, were eligible for all Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs funded health services, had PTSD as an accepted disability prior to July 2015 and were alive at the 30 June 2016. Veterans were assigned to groups based on their use of health services using K-means cluster analysis.

resultsThe cohort comprised five clusters involving 2286 veterans. The largest cluster (43%) were a younger, general practitioner (GP) managed cluster who saw their GP quarterly and the psychiatrist twice a year. The second GP cluster (30%) had higher levels of physical comorbidity. The psychiatrist managed cluster (14%) had a mean of 12 psychiatrist visits and one PTSD hospitalisation in the year. The remaining two clusters involved GP and allied healthcare, but no psychologist care. High levels of antidepressant use occurred in all clusters, ranging from 44% up to 69%. The psychiatrist managed cluster had 47% on antipsychotics and 58% on anxiolytics.

conclusionOur study highlights the heterogeneity in health service use. These results identify the significant health utilisation required for up to one-sixth of veterans with PTSD and the significant role of primary care physicians in supporting veterans with PTSD.

Indexed as

Stress Disorders, Post-TraumaticVeteransAustraliaCluster AnalysisHealth ServicesHumansPatient Acceptance of Health Careadult psychiatryanxiety disordershealth services administration & managementtrauma management

Identifiers

PMID33547192
PMCPMC8788042

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