My chosen topic integrates the welfare of veterans of recent wars, such as conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the prescription of opioids for trauma, general mental well-being, and adaptation to civilian and even academic life. Recent studies have shown trends of opioid-related overdoses, which are especially prevalent in Afghanistan/Iraq-era veterans (Mahoney et al., 2021). Physiological, psychological, and structural factors that could impact these incidents are unclear, but many behaviors can be mapped to precipitate such cases of overdose or other alarming trends in the welfare of veterans. Veterans are susceptible to opioid misuse due to a myriad of possible mental disorders, often including comorbid PTSD and opioid use disorder (Bennett et al., 2017). In the worst cases, some studies have suspected misuse of opioids in relation to mental health conditions with suicide ideations (Drews, 2020). It would be best to utilize research data to formulate a literature review to address the correlation between opioid prescriptions and mental well-being in veterans that partake in university-level education. As such, the research question will ask how opioid overdose or misuse correlates with opioid prescriptions for pain management in Afghanistan and Iraq veterans who have re-entered society through the academic sphere?
Possible journals should correlate with both the military, social science, and medical aspects of the topic. One of the journals could be the Military Medicine journal which takes a more medical approach to military-related issues, which would be essential in understanding the physical effects of opioids (Oxford Academic, 2021). The Journal of Veteran Studies aims to sustain research, facilitate collaborations, and narrow culture gaps in relation to veteran research (Virginia Tech Publishing, 2021). A recent study depicts how much of an influential factor opioid use is for veterans with chronic pain management and posttraumatic stress disorder (Saadoun et al., 2021). PTG can be observed in another system-wide review in which quantitative data is collected concerning ex-personnel and mental, social, and physical well-being (Mark et al., 2018).
References
Bennett, A. S., Elliott, L., Golub, A., Wolfson-Stofko, B., & Guarino, H. (2017). Opioid-Involved Overdose Among Male Afghanistan/Iraq-Era U.S. Military Veterans: A Multidimensional Perspective. Substance Use & Misuse, 52(13), 1701-1711.
Drews, N. (2020). The Association Between Opioid Prescriptions and Suicidal Ideation in Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Yale University.
Mahoney, C. T., Moshier, S. J., Keane, T. M., & Marx, B. P. (2021). Heightened healthcare utilization & risk of mental disorders among Veterans with comorbid opioid use disorder & posttraumatic stress disorder. Addictive Behaviors, 112.
Mark, K. M., Stevelink, S. A., Choi, J., & Fear, N. T. (2018). Post-traumatic growth in the military: a systematic review. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 72, 904-915.
Oxford Academic. (2021). About this journal. Military Medicine.
Saadoun, M., Bauer, M. R., Sayko Adams, R., Highland, K. B., & Larson, M. J. (2021). Opioid and Nonpharmacologic Treatments Among Soldiers With Chronic Pain and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Psychiatric Services, 72(3), 264-272.
Virginia Tech Publishing. (2021). About this Journal. Journal of Veteran Studies.