Tip Sheets
Resources for covering mental health and the military
The Association of Health Care Journalists offers resources to help journalists cover the wide range of health topics, including those surrounding the military, veterans and post-traumatic stress disorder. Members and other journalists write articles and tip sheets specifically for AHCJ about how they have reported a story, issues that our members are likely to cover and other important topics.
Tip Sheets
Issues facing female veterans and women on active duty
Disaster coverage: Is your newsroom prepared?
Conference presentation from Gerald Cross, M.D., principal deputy under secretary for health, Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, on the medical system's looming military-related demands panel at Health Journalism 2008.
Conference presentation from Larry Albers, M.D., chief of the Mental Health Care Group, Long Beach VA Healthcare System about the mental health of veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, from Health Journalism 2007.
Conference presentation from Mark Barad, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA, from a panel at Health Journalism 2007: "New generation of veterans deals with post-traumatic stress."
Articles
Interviewing 'profoundly affected' soldiers
Tips for interviewing service members returning from Iraq, the Middle East or Afghanistan
Bay Area panel on veterans' health highlights untold stories
Web sites
Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
PILOTS Database: Electronic index to traumatic stress literature
Psychological distress, substance abuse in veterans
American Psychological Association resources on PTSD
National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 7 percent of veterans aged 18 or older experienced serious psychological distress in the past year, 7.1 percent met the criteria for a substance use disorder, and 1.5 percent had co-occurring serious psychological distress and substance use disorder.
Award winners
(Questionnaires are only available to members.)
Love, War, and PTSD: Anna and Peter Mohan
2008 Body of Work, Carol Smith of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer explores the complexities of a failing mental health system and the link between PTSD and brain damage.