This paper will discuss therapeutic outlets as a potential and viable treatment option for alleviating symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in military veterans. This paper will also discuss what the pursuit of these treatments looks like. This paper begins with a literature review. It will address the background of veterans, discuss PTSD within the veteran community, and explain the concept of therapeutic outlets, which are activities or engagements that promote mental well-being but are outside of the realm of prescription drugs. Next, this paper will analyze the results of the literature review and discuss the current standard of care for treating PTSD in the veteran community and how it could be improved upon. The results showed that there was a desire by veterans to pursue alternative treatments to replace or supplement prescription medication. The discussion and conclusions sections will address some of the issues facing veterans with mental illness including stigma, adverse side effects from antidepressants, and institutional pressure. I argue that improving upon the current standard of care offered to veterans afflicted with PTSD will reduce comorbidities, homelessness, unemployment rates, and social relationship strife. I also argue that because the military lifestyle is rooted in goal and mission orientation, skills training, and pursuing mental and physical fitness, therapeutic outlets will be desirable and effective among the veteran community. In future endeavors, it will be important to assess how health care providers and mental wellness professionals can safely and effectively incorporate therapeutic outlets into the mental rehabilitation process veterans undergo as they assimilate back into civilian society.

The Hispanic immigrant population of the United States is rapidly growing. The need for accessing adequate healthcare services has led the healthcare system to utilize community navigators and fotonovelas as tools for dissemination of health knowledge and resources in Hispanic communities. Fotonovelas are health literacy tools that have been adapted and used to increase low health literacy rates and access to care, specifically among low income, monolingual Spanish speaking communities. A literature review was conducted to investigate the purpose of community navigators and the use and distribution of fotonovelas. Organizations such as the Center for Disease Control and the Rural Womenâs Health Project have developed fotonovelas with a âone size fits allâ perspective, while studies utilizing community based participatory research have collaborated with Hispanic community members for the development, drafting, and distribution of fotonovelas tailored to their community. The lack of studies measuring the efficacy and long-term use of fotonovelas suggests the need to further research the efficacy and the reach of fotonovelas after their distribution. As a health literacy tool, fotonovelas must be tailored to the needs of Hispanic communities and used in other diverse mediums such as websites and social media.

Over the past several years, increasing the adoption of interoperable EHRs has been one of central goals of the US healthcare system. This study is the first known state-wide assessment of adoption rates of EDRs and certified EHRs in dental clinics in Tennessee. Institutional theory is used in this work as a conceptual framework to examine factors associated with the adoption of EDRs and EHRs. Also included is a historical analysis of factors that contributed to the medical-dental divide and subsequent formation of the organization and institutional forms of dentistry. Through a survey methodological approach, it was found that institutional factors, in the manner that they were operationalized, do not have a major impact on the adoption of information technology in dentistry.