NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 3 Letter to Editor: Population Health Policy Advocacy

NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 3

Letter to the Editor: Population Health Policy Advocacy

Student name

Capella University

NURS FPX 6026 – Biopsychosocial Concepts for Advanced Nursing Practice 2

Professor Name

Submission Date

September 2025

Bahnhofstrasse 45

8001 Zürich, Switzerland

Healthcare: The Journal of Delivery Science and Innovation (MDPI)

Dear Prof. Pavlik,

In recent times, an article caught my interest because the interventions founded on the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the Latino community are acutely in need of being culturally tailored (Taylor Miller et al., 2021). Being a nurse scholar, I am solidly convinced of the results of the authors and am willing to spread the concepts of policy-based approaches to reinforce the systematic inclusion of culturally mindful approaches to trauma treatment, particularly in the Latino American veteran group that has the highest incidence of PTSD and is subjected to prolonged cultural and systematic impediments to care.

Current State of Quality of Care and Outcomes

The inequities in the diagnosis and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Latino American veterans are high and are aligned with the inequities identified by Delgado et al. (2025). National data show that about 36 percent of Latino veterans screen positively on PTSD, with the same figure on the non-Latino White veterans, but the Latino veterans are later diagnosed, and the proportion of Latino veterans initiating treatment is low.

The Latino veterans are also discovered to seek mental health services 30% lower than the non-Latino veterans, which contributes to higher rates of presenting severe symptoms, hospitalization, and long-term disability (Al Jowf et al., 2023). The differences directly translate to the lowest outcomes that imply comorbid depression, substance abuse, and suicidal behavior.

A part of the inherent pushes that have contributed to these disparities are the cultural stigma of the mental illness, language and communication barriers, and the ability to have culturally competent providers that can deliver services to the Latino veterans in accordance with their experiences. Even though there are evidence-based interventions such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), they are rarely adjusted to the Latino culture.

Thus, the likelihood of early treatment termination is large among Latino veterans, and the dropout rates are nearly two times higher than in non-Latino groups (Delgado et al., 2025). Until Latino veterans receive an excessively large burden of PTSD and its long-term consequences, there will be no policies in place to incorporate culturally responsive, trauma-informed care into the routine operations.

• Knowledge Gap

Among the knowledge gaps associated with the problem of PTSD in the Latino American veteran population, the fact that little research has been conducted on the effectiveness of culturally adapted evidence-based interventions such as the TF -CBT and EMDR among this group of individuals must be mentioned. Despite the apparent differences in diagnosis, access to treatment, and outcome, the literature has seldom employed large-scale studies that examine the effect of the culture, language, and community peculiarities of Latinos in terms of their engagement in the treatment intervention, symptom reduction, and long-term recovery.

In addition, the insufficient knowledge regarding how systemic barriers, such as provider shortages and structural racism in the veteran healthcare systems, and cultural factors that contribute to the intensification of inequities, have denied policymakers and clinicians evidence-based models of sustainable, culturally responsive PTSD care.

Need for Policy Development and Advocacy

The actual scenario in the PTSD treatment of the Latino American veterans shows an urgent and highly culturally responsive health policy that is disease-specific. This group continues to testify about the late diagnosis, less-than-ideal usage of mental health services, and poor treatment outcomes in comparison with the non-Latino veterans. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the prevalence rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is close to 3.6 percent of the global population in an individual case, and it is comparable to over 280 million people globally annually (WHO, 2022).

Despite the presence of evidence-based interventions, such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), the treatment gap still exists due to the poor adaptation of the cultural component, language barrier, and outreach system (Delgado et al., 2025). These inequities are perpetuated in some of the ways mentioned above, including stigma, economic difficulties, and inaccessible and unavailable bilingual or culturally competent providers, which are some of the factors contributing to the absence of equity in the outcomes of PTSD.

Such systemic barriers demand policy formulation to address them directly. Increasing the availability of culturally sensitive trauma care through Medicaid, paying for bilingual mental health care in local and veteran clinics, and enforcing cultural competence training of providers would be very helpful in terms of the quality of care and its outcomes.

The second aspect that should not be overlooked is the partnership with peer support and communities, which would allow reducing the stigma and increasing the level of trust among the Latinos. Unless advocacy is done to prioritize, implement, and fund such measures, the Latino veterans will continue to have a disproportionate burden of PTSD hence resulting in higher levels of disability, comorbidities, and poor reintegration.

• Areas of Uncertainty

The efficacy and scalability of culturally sensitive interventions to address PTSD in Latino American veterans in the long run remain doubtful. Despite the scientific evidence of the utility of culturally adapted care, the majority of the studies are insufficient and cannot explore sustainability and application across the board. There are also data gaps on socioeconomic and geographic disparities, such as living in rural or abject poverty, that also affect access to care. There is also a lack of clarity on how fast interdisciplinary, culturally competent care can be implemented into the health systems and providers, especially in underfunded settings.

Justification for the Proposed Policy

There is very good evidence that the Culturally Responsive Trauma-Informed Care Policy of Latino American veterans, as proposed, can be used. Through interventions, such as a bilingual trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), a culturally tailored Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and a peer-delivered veteran support program, this policy has proven effective in the reduction of the severity of the symptoms of PTSD and also the treatment of other co-morbid disorders, such as depression and substance use disorders.

The other solution to the gap is to increase the availability of telehealth-delivered trauma counseling and serve veterans in rural or underserved areas, where mental healthcare providers might be insufficient (Quayson et al., 2024). The use of bilingual materials and interpreter services will be used to ensure that language is no longer a barrier to care, and the provision of necessary training in cultural competence will equip the providers to deliver treatment in a way that respects the cultural background and lived experiences of veterans.

The provided policy is essential as it would ensure culturally responsive delivery of trauma care and the provision of equal access to services that directly respond to the barriers the Latino veterans from recovering. This policy increases treatment adherence, trust building, and improves the long-term mental health outcomes as culturally relevant provider training is standardized, bilingual support is integrated, and interdisciplinary partnership is improved (Crowley et al., 2023).

It is proven that treatments tailored to different cultures have higher treatment completion rates and PTSD recovery rates compared to non-modified treatments. The mentioned actions will make sure that not only will the management of symptoms improve at the moment, but the chronic disability and comorbidities will be avoided, and the burden of PTSD-related complications on society will be reduced in the long term.

• Other Perspectives

Even though the specified policy aims at cultural customization and equitable access, its critics may say that it may be costly to implement or may pose a high workload to staff by training and staffing (Baumann et al., 2025). The other groups could claim that the targeting of a particular population would unintentionally instill inequities since resources are diverted to other target groups with a mental health need.

However, the research suggests that culturally responsive intervention can help to enhance the outcomes of various groups of people, as it will enhance the level of trust and decrease the level of stigma, and improve treatment adherence (Ahad et al., 2023). In so doing, the policies that are developed to reach the Latino veterans can be scaled models that can be applied to other disadvantaged groups.

Broader Policy Application Across Other Care Settings

The policy should be expanded to other care environments since the treatment of PTSD among underserved citizens is far beyond the veteran-focused clinic and should be maintained throughout the various types of hospitals, community-based institutions, schools, and community health organizations. Though the specified policy is initially focused on improving the care of the Latino American veterans with PTSD, the principles it is based on, i.e., cultural competence, trauma-informed care, and equal access, are highly scalable and can be extended to other at-risk groups and to the healthcare systems. Telehealth trauma counseling coupled with bilingual education and community health workers (CHWs) has shown a high degree of positive impact not just on the veterans, but also on the heterogeneous groups, such as minority groups in the urban areas and rural residents with limited mental health resources (Gallegos-Rejas et al., 2025).

The common barriers of stigma, inaccessibility of specialized care, language, and socioeconomic barriers can be overcome to implement policies in a variety of care settings. It is also applicable to other at-risk groups of people, including refugees, survivors of domestic violence, and low-income groups other than Latino veterans.

The policy will have a long-term impact on mental health outcomes and a reduction in health disparities on a population-wide level by incorporating culturally responsive and interdisciplinary care as an extension of mainstream health services. Considering the result, the wide application will allow for encouraging equity, resilience, and trauma-sensitive systems that will result in avoiding avoidable complications of the psychiatric problem.

• Potential Challenges

Among the possible challenges in the implementation of this policy, one can note the opposition of the stakeholders that may lead to the question of the need to have culturally adapted care, the absence of financial and human resources to conduct training and employ the bilingual providers, and the disparities in access based on the geographic and institutional setting. Furthermore, long-term outcome gaps in culturally sensitive PTSD treatments continue to exist that cannot be used to determine the progress in its totality (Schaechter et al., 2025). The implementation of regulatory requirements, particularly in the veteran healthcare system, can be slowed by developing a strategy and culture sensitivity among the Latino subgroups can be ensured through ongoing training and repositioning.

Role of the Interdisciplinary Team

The interdisciplinary team of PTSD care among the Latino American veterans would include psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, alongside social workers. Psychiatrists and psychologists are needed because they diagnose PTSD and offer evidence-based interventions, such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) (Hudays et al., 2022). The continuity of care in psychiatric nurses is achieved through monitoring symptoms, educating them about what is offered in the treatments, and promoting compliance through trauma-informed methods. The social workers will be able to resolve the social determinants of health because they assist the veterans in getting employment, housing, and disability benefits that play a crucial role in mental health recovery.

The community health workers (CHWs) and the peer support specialists, especially the veterans, are priceless in building trust and limiting the stigma within Latino communities. They help to minimize the cultural disparity, make bilingual communication easier, and direct the veterans towards the community resources, including faith-based organizations. The pharmacists are involved in the use of psychotropic drugs, drug interactions, and making treatment affordable and readily available to the veterans (Winter et al., 2024). Lastly, policymakers and administrations also play significant roles in the provision of financial resources and the sustenance of the programs that integrate cultural competence into the mainstream provisions of veterans’ mental health.

• Areas of Uncertainty

The questions of uncertainty are whether the suggested policy is effective in resolving cultural and linguistic barriers among various subgroups of Latinos and whether it can ensure the regular involvement of the veterans in services due to the stigma that has remained on mental health. The ambiguity of sustainability and resource support is also evident in the rural VA and community clinics that have been underinvested, and that even lack bilingual and culturally competent providers (Hill et al., 2024). In addition, it is questionable how the healthcare systems can be modified in a way that will incorporate the interdisciplinary training and cultural responsiveness practices into the already established infrastructures.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the issue of PTSD among Latino American veterans should not be resolved by means of a traditional clinical treatment, but an interdisciplinary approach with cultural sensitivity and trauma-informed policy should be applied. The suggested policy directly possesses the capability to counter the long-standing disparities that have made the group slow to adhere to treatment, delayed in diagnosis, and poorer outcomes by offering more access to evidence-based treatments, incorporating bilingual resources, and gaining trust through community partnerships. Despite the existence of challenges such as the sustainability of funding and a lack of providers, the outcomes of disparity reduction, improving the mental health impact, and reintegrating veterans into society far exceed the challenges.

Best Regards,

Name:____________

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Appendix

Journal: Healthcare (MDPI)

Website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/healthcare/instructions