Veteran and Family Mental Health
A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 16 April 2026 | Viewed by 11
Special Issue Editors
Interests: aging; veterans; mental health; PTSD; trauma; public safety personnel; health care providers
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Veterans and their family members face unique mental health difficulties stemming from military service, deployment-related stress, transitioning to civilian life, supporting chronic conditions, and long-term effects of trauma. Despite growing recognition of these issues, research often overlooks the broader family system and diverse identities within veteran populations. Mental health concerns, including PTSD, moral injury, depression, suicidality, and caregiver burden, remain prevalent and under-addressed across healthcare systems.
This Special Issue thus aims to advance the scientific understanding of veteran and family mental health through interdisciplinary contributions that align with health promotion, service delivery, public health, and clinical practice.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following areas:
- Trauma-informed and culturally responsive care;
- Barriers to access;
- Crisis intervention;
- Family-based supports;
- Experiences of equity-deserving Veterans (i.e., women, Indigenous and 2SLGBTQI+).
We encourage submissions that highlight innovation across health disciplines and those that capture lived experience across domains. By bringing attention to this important topic, this Special Issue aims to support evidence-informed improvements in healthcare services for veterans and their families.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Kimberly Ritchie
Dr. Janet W.M. Ellis
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- veteran mental health
- military families
- PTSD
- moral injury
- caregiver burden
- culturally responsive care
- health service delivery
- trauma-informed care
- suicide prevention
- equity-deserving populations
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
