Resumen

COMECANHA, Rita  y  MAIA, Angela. Determinants of health services use in veterans of Portuguese Colonial War: PTSD, neuroticism and social support. Contextos Clínic [online]. 2011, vol.4, n.2, pp.123-131. ISSN 1983-3482.  https://doi.org/10.4013/ctc.2011.42.06.

The exposure to traumatic events, especially when it origins Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), is related to the increase of physical complaints and a larger demand of health services. This study explores variables associated with health services use among 25 Portuguese Colonial War Veterans, compared to 25 Non-Combatants, particularly Trauma Exposure, PTSD Symptoms, Reported Diseases, Neuroticism and Social Support. The results reveal a high prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Veterans and significant differences between both groups in number of diseases and health services use, higher among Veterans. On this group, Neuroticism is associated to a higher health services use, while a smaller Social Support is correlated to specialized consultation use. These results suggest that professionals should be regardful to subjects with PTSD symptoms, seeking to adapt medical care to their specificities.

Palabras clave : veterans; health services; post-traumatic stress.

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