Media induced anxiety in the active duty medical clinic setting: A pilot study
Media stimuli have long been used in the research community to evaluate autonomic responses among subpopulations. Prior to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the majority of research had been focused on war veterans, rape/crime victims, and vehicle accident victims. Post- 9/11, a new surge of research has been focused on survivors, eyewitnesses, and media watchers to the extraordinary events that occurred on that historic day. The current news media stimuli of violent activities and economic and political turmoil are potential stressors for active duty soldiers who have faced or will face similar events in the near future. These types of media stressors could potentially lead to unnecessary autonomic response in the active duty soldiers who are a susceptible population. Currently there is no policy is in place to regulate what is being shown in the waiting rooms of clinics attended by these soldiers. The aims of this Capstone are twofold. The first aim is to assess the impact of current news media coverage on the anxiety levels of active duty soldiers in the clinical setting. The second aim is to propose recommendations regarding the types of media that should be restricted in the military medical clinic setting.
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