Assessment of Viet Nam veterans for posttraumatic stress disorder in veterans administration disability claims

R. M. Atkinson, R. G. Henderson, L. F. Sparr, S. Deale

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

80 Scopus citations

Abstract

Since the Veterans Administration (VA) authorized compensation and other benefits for posttraumatic stress disorder, delayed type, in October 1980, the agency has received an increasingly large number of claims - mainly from Viet Nam veterans - for this disorder. An unprecedented challenge of the adequacy of psychiatric disability evaluation in the VA has thus been created. The authors describe efforts in one large program to meet this challenge and review 12 problems in the diagnostic process. Cooperation of all parties in claims transactions, thorough claimant assessment, reliance on DSM-III criteria and methods, and consultation with examiners are essential principles for this work.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1118-1121
Number of pages4
JournalAmerican Journal of Psychiatry
Volume139
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - 1982
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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