Self-care status of veterans with combat-related post traumatic stress disorder: A review article

Background and Purpose: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is identified as the risk factor for functional difficulties in most of the survivors. The aim of this study was to investigate the current evidence-based literature on the area of self-care and ADL status in the veterans with combat-related PTSD.

Methods: This review was conducted on the studies published within 2005-2015. The search was performed using such databases as SID, Iran Medex, Magiran, Science Direct, ProQuest, and PubMed. The searches were initially carried out using single keywords, and then continued with using OR/AND for combining words such as “self-care activity, instrumental activities of daily living, physical functioning, post- traumatic stress disorder in war veterans, etc”. Finally, a total of 783 papers were retrieved, out of which only 15 publications were considered relevant to the subject under discussion and investigated in-depth.

Results: According to the findings of the reviewed articles, there is a relationship between the self-care status and PTSD severity; as a result, greater PTSD symptoms are accompanied by poorer self-care practices and ADLs. Furthermore, in all the studies, the physical functioning (self-care or ADLs) was lower in the PTSD population in comparison to the non-PTSD population.

Conclusion: As the findings of the retrieved articles indicated, it can be conclude that the self-care practices and ADLs were poor among the veterans suffering from PTSD. Therefore, it is necessary that nurses develop a comprehensive care planning for this population to facilitate their achievement of independence in ADLs.