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Article: Primary care urged to screen vets for suicide.(MENTAL HEALTH)
- Article from:
- Family Practice News
- Article date:
- June 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 International Medical News Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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MONTREAL -- Suicide screening can be done quickly and easily for veterans attending routine primary care visits, according to Hani Shabana, Ph.D., from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salem, Va.
"Primary care is a largely untapped resource" for suicide prevention in this population, he said, noting evidence that many suicides are completed within days of a primary care visit.
"Many veterans are prone to things like chronic pain, post-traumatic stress syndrome, and depression, and there is a push within Veterans Affairs to get mental health providers integrated into the primary care setting," he said at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral ...