Opinions of Korean War Veterans about Health Care Services They Received during the Wartime

Abstract

This research was carried out examining and defining the opinions of Korean Veterans about the health care services they received during the war. The literature related to the health care services provided for the soldiers during wars is limited. Historical processes and analyses are potentially large reserves for establishment of bonds between generations and for information transfer. Understanding the past makes us comprehend the present time and includes effective solutions for future events and cases. A qualitative study for sentinel event preparation, was carried out with 12 volunteer veterans who were members of the Izmir Branch of the Combatant Veterans Association. In the research, face-to-face interview technique was used with "Semi-structured Question Form". The necessary approvals were obtained from the ethics committee and the association to conduct the research. After the interviews are completed, it is for the research of the receording data made by the researchers, for content analysis with the program NVivo 10. Demographic information’s of Veterans participating in the research; their mean age is 86±1.12 and 42.7% of them are primary school graduates. 33.3% of the participants served at the front in the Korean War as combat, 33.3 % as artillery, 16.6 % as infantry, and 16.6 % as technicians. According to the information obtained from the veterans, the main themes related to the health care services that the veterans during the war are determined. The main themes related to the health care services that veterans receive are appointed as preventive health services, treatment health services and rehabilitation services. In order to know what historical authority is about health care services, it is recommended to reach different groups in the turning point role in historical process and to orient present-day in the education.