There is consensus that military personnel can encounter a far more diverse set of challenges than researchers and clinicians have historically appreciated. Moral injury (MI) represents an emerging construct to capture behavioural, social, and spiritual suffering that may transcend and overlap with mental health diagnoses (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder). The Expressions of Moral Injury Scale-Military Version (EMIS-M) was developed to provide a reliable and valid means for assessing the warning signs of a MI in military populations. Drawing on independent samples of veterans who had served in a war-zone environment, factor analytic results revealed 2 distinct factors related to MI expressions directed at both self (9 items) and others (8 items). These subscales generated excellent internal consistency and temporal stability over a 6-month period. When compared to measures of post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, and other theoretically relevant constructs (e.g., forgiveness, social support, moral emotions, and combat exposure), EMIS-M scores demonstrated strong convergent, divergent, and incremental validity. In addition, although structural equation modelling findings supported a possible general MI factor in Study 2, the patterns of associations for self- and other-directed expressions yielded evidence for differential validity with varying forms of forgiveness and combat exposure. As such, the EMIS-M provides a face valid, psychometrically validated tool for assessing expressions of apparent MI subtypes in research and clinical settings. Looking ahead, the EMIS-M will hopefully advance the scientific understanding of MI while supporting innovation for clinicians to tailor evidence-based treatments and/or develop novel approaches for addressing MI in their work.

BackgroundLarge numbers of post-deployment U.S. veterans are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or traumatic brain injury (TBI), leading to an urgent need for effective interventions to reduce symptoms and increase veterans’ coping. PTSD includes anxiety, flashbacks, and emotional numbing. The symptoms increase health care costs for stress-related illnesses and can make veterans’ civilian life difficult.MethodsWe used a randomized wait-list controlled design with repeated measures of U.S. military veterans to address our specific aim to test the efficacy of a 6-week therapeutic horseback riding (THR) program for decreasing PTSD symptoms and increasing coping self-efficacy, emotion regulation, social and emotional loneliness.Fifty-seven participants were recruited and 29 enrolled in the randomized trial. They were randomly assigned to either the horse riding group (n = 15) or a wait-list control group (n = 14). The wait-list control group experienced a 6-week waiting period, while the horse riding group began THR. The wait-list control group began riding after 6 weeks of participating in the control group.Demographic and health history information was obtained from all the participants. PTSD symptoms were measured using the standardized PTSD Checklist-Military Version (PCL-M).The PCL-M as well as other instruments including, The Coping Self Efficacy Scale (CSES), The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and The Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults-short version (SELSA) were used to access different aspects of individual well-being and the PTSD symptoms.ResultsParticipants had a statistically significant decrease in PTSD scores after 3 weeks of THR (P ≤ 0.01) as well as a statistically and clinically significant decrease after 6 weeks of THR (P ≤ 0.01). Logistic regression showed that participants had a 66.7% likelihood of having lower PTSD scores at 3 weeks and 87.5% likelihood at 6 weeks. Under the generalized linear model(GLM), our ANOVA findings for the coping self-efficacy, emotion regulation, and social and emotional loneliness did not reach statistical significance. The results for coping self-efficacy and emotion regulation trended in the predicted direction. Results for emotional loneliness were opposite the predicted direction. Logistic regression provided validation that outcome effects were caused by riding longer.ConclusionThe findings suggest that THR may be a clinically effective intervention for alleviating PTSD symptoms in military veterans.

Problem-solving therapy is a feasible and promising approach to reducing cancer family caregivers' anxiety in the outpatient palliative care setting. Further testing in multiple sites is recommended.

Introduction Given the rapid global growth of older adults with chronic condition(s), the present study explored the effects of telehealth technologies on self-management among older adults with chronic condition(s). Methods Clinical trial studies on telehealth self-management for older adults with chronic condition(s) published in peer reviewed journals were reviewed systematically. In addition, the potential biases were assessed for included studies. Results This review identified 31 articles regarding the effectiveness of telehealth technologies on self-management among older adults. Discussion According to the findings of the present study, telehealth technologies have shown effectiveness on improving self-care skills, improving self-monitoring behaviours and improving clinical outcomes among older adults with chronic condition(s) in different settings. Using telehealth technologies is an advisable intervention for promoting older patients' self-management. However, it is critical to consider racial diversity and culture-related health behaviour differences when using telehealth technologies.

Context Those caring for their loved ones in hospice experience tremendous stress, being faced with numerous decisions as they work to manage the pain experienced by their loved one. Although hospice care teams create pain management strategies, it is the role of the caregiver to implement these plans. Objectives The purpose of this study was to further understand the hospice caregiver experience relating to pain management. Methods Semi-structured interviews with 146 caregivers provided data for the study. Responses to seven questions asking for a ranking of end-of-life pain management indicated a less than ideal experience. Available narratives from 38 caregivers were analyzed for themes related to further understanding the concerns. Results Five themes were identified in the data including difficulty with administration of pain medicines, concerns about side effects of medications, insecurity with pain assessment, frustrations with communication among health care team members, and memories of unrelieved pain. Conclusion These findings should raise concern among hospice professionals, whose commitment is to the management of pain, including emotional pain, with a focus on both the patient and the family as a unit of care. These data clearly suggest hospice providers have an opportunity to be sensitive to perceptions held by caregivers regarding pain management. Effective planning for pain control must incorporate the values and beliefs not only of each patient, but also of the family caregiver.