Physical Trauma In Veterans

One physical trauma that a veteran can experience from combat are burn wounds. Burn injury is a universal threat for most military personal who have experienced combat. Burns and injuries from shrapnel fragments or small fire arms are very common wounds (Borden Institute. The Textbooks of Military Medicine). Even with the protective factors the military uses today, such as Kevlar vests, burn wound victims are usually left with serious mutilations and handicaps from burns over body areas not protected by the vest.

Combat exposure itself can be extremely traumatizing for service members and can cause psychological issues. Veterans who have experienced physical trauma as well as psychological trauma may have mental health issues. According to the article, Military and Civilian Burn Injuries During Armed Conflicts, psychological problems seen in burn patients are depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (Atiyeh, Gunn, & Hayek, 2007). Some of the symptoms include recollections of the incident, subsequent intrusions, avoidance, and

Using a biopsychosocial approach is essential because each aspect is related and vital to provide the veteran treatment. In the case of a veteran who has a physical injury related to combat, this injury could influence social interaction or psychological function. The important features of the biopsychosocial assessment when working with a veteran with a burn wound is first looking at the biological aspect. During this part of the assessment it is important to understand the veteran’s injury, as this can help the social worker understand how it impacts the veteran socially and psychologically. Another area of the biological aspect that would be important to look at is family history of illness or past history of mental health diagnosis, by looking at this a social worker can assess if the veteran is at a higher risk of mental health