A Theoretical Study of the Hidden Wounds of War: Disenfranchised Grief and the Impact on Nursing Practice

Combat veterans face enormous challenges upon the return to civilian life, one of which is the ability to integrate incidences of death and killing into a healthy postdeployment life. This paper presents the lived experience of grief and loss resulting from the trauma of war. Social constructionist theory, due to its emphasis on meaning-making, serves as the theoretical framework. The effects of inhibited mourning due to the inability to mourn in combat and lack of nurturing upon returning home are described. Personal excerpts derived from interviews of warfare from veterans that experienced death and killing are presented. It is suggested that combat veterans experience a unique form of grief and therefore require a style of grieving that differs from those that have not served on the battlefield. Regardless of the point of care, nurses are positioned to help with the challenges of readjustment. A better understanding of combat veterans as a disenfranchised group would enable nurses to intervene in ways that contribute to the readjustment process.