Traumatic disclosures in the life stories of older Vietnam era veterans.

Background: Eliciting life stories is an important component of person-centered care that may aid in understanding how an individual's unique background and narrative impacts their health. Such life stories, especially when gathered from older military Veterans, may include traumatic events, raising the urgency that clinicians be prepared to provide care that is trauma-informed and ensure Veteran's experiences are acknowledged and treated effectively.

Methods: We examined the prevalence and type of potentially traumatic and/or adverse life events spontaneously shared by 231 older Veterans participating in a life story intervention while receiving care within the U.