Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan


Book Description

Nearly 1.9 million U.S. troops have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001. Many service members and veterans face serious challenges in readjusting to normal life after returning home. This initial book presents findings on the most critical challenges, and lays out the blueprint for the second phase of the study to determine how best to meet the needs of returning troops and their families.




Health Consequences of Service During the Persian Gulf War


Book Description

In January 1995 the Institute of Medicine released a preliminary report containing initial findings and recommendations on the federal government's response to reports by some veterans and their families that they were suffering from illnesses related to military service in the Persian Gulf War. The committee was asked to review the government's means of collecting and maintaining information for assessing the health consequences of military service and to recommend improvements and epidemiological studies if warranted. This new volume reflects an additional year of study by the committee and the full results of its three-year effort.







Gulf War and Health


Book Description

The sixth in a series of congressionally mandated reports on Gulf War veterans' health, this volume evaluates the health effects associated with stress. Since the launch of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, there has been growing concern about the physical and psychological health of Gulf War and other veterans. In the late 1990s, Congress responded by asking the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to review and evaluate the scientific and medical literature regarding associations between illness and exposure to toxic agents, environmental or wartime hazards, and preventive medicines or vaccines in members of the armed forces who were exposed to such agents. Deployment to a war zone has a profound impact on the lives of troops and on their family members. There are a plethora of stressors associated with deployment, including constant vigilance against unexpected attack, difficulty distinguishing enemy combatants from civilians, concerns about survival, caring for the badly injured, and witnessing the death of a person. Less traumatic but more pervasive stressors include anxiety about home life, such as loss of a job and income, impacts on relationships, and absence from family. The focus of this report, by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Gulf War and Health: Physiologic, and Psychosocial Effects of Deployment-Related Stress, is the long-term effects of deployment-related stress. Gulf War and Health: Volume 6. Physiologic, and Psychosocial Effects of Development Related Stress evaluates the scientific literature regarding association between deployment-related stressors and health effects, and provides meaningful recommendations to remedy this problem.




Health Consequences of Service During the Persian Gulf War


Book Description

This initial volume in an ongoing study of the potential health consequences of service during the Persian Gulf War responds to a request from Congress to determine whether actions taken to evaluate health effects have been appropriate. It reflects the committee's examination of health outcomes and related research efforts, women's health and reproductive health issues, infrastructure and procedures for data collection, health services influences, the role of psychiatric diagnosis, and a review of the activities of boards and coordinating groups, as well as how issues stemming from involvement in the Persian Gulf might be relevant for possible future conflicts. While the committee continues its full-length study of the problem, the recommendations in this volume are for actions it feels should be taken immediately.




Gulf War and Health


Book Description

The Gulf War in 1990-1991 was considered a brief and successful military operation, with few injuries or deaths of US troops. The war began in August 1990, and the last US ground troops returned home by June 1991. Although most Gulf War veterans resumed their normal activities, many soon began reporting a variety of nonexplained health problems that they attributed to their participation in the Gulf War, including chronic fatigue, muscle and joint pain, loss of concentration, forgetfulness, headache, and rash. Because of concerns about the veterans' health problems, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) review the scientific and medical literature on the long-term adverse health effects of agents to which the Gulf War veterans may have been exposed. This report is a broad overview of the toxicology of sarin and cyclosarin. It assesses the biologic plausibility with respect to the compounds in question and health effects.




Psychological and Psychosocial Consequences of Combat and Deployment


Book Description

The overall patterns of research findings demonstrate that stress-such as that which characterized Gulf War deployment, combat, and return home-is a contributing factor to many illnesses. This book argues for greater understanding of the complexity of symptoms and potential causes of combat-related stress.




Treating Young Veterans


Book Description

"The editors of Treating Young Veterans and the authors of the individual chapters [provide] practitioners with essential information about the needs, desires, and possibilities for veteransÖand their families. This book represents a thoughtful, sensitive, and sensible approach to working with military personnel and veterans who have been deployed to wars in the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan." From the Foreword by Peter B. Vaughan Dean, Graduate School of Social Service () Fordham University, New York, NY Many veterans unsuccessfully attempt to self-manage their mental and physical health needs. This volume examines the multiple challenges awaiting the new generation of young veterans returning to civilian life, and provides strategies for mental health professionals to assist them in the process of readjustment. It incorporates multidisciplinary, state-of-the-art research to present practice and advocacy opportunities that facilitate a healthy and socially engaged reintegration into society for both traditional veterans (enlisted and career military personnel) and nontraditional veterans (reservists, national guardsmen, and women) aged 18 to 40 years. The volume is divided into three sections: Assessment and Practice Approaches to Promote Resilience; Outreach and Practice With Special Communities, and Advocacy Practice to Promote Young Veterans' Well-Being. Each section includes an introduction highlighting the chapters, and an epilogue delineating important steps in practice, outreach, and advocacy. Key Features: Targets the specific needs of veterans of the Iraqi and Afghani conflicts Includes chapters on women and sexual trauma in the military and homeless combat veterans Addresses the special needs of children of veterans and the nature of ambiguous loss as "veteran-by-proxy," employment issues, and equity issues related to reservists Authored by recognized experts including military officers, attorneys, and Veterans Affairs administrators Designed for both general and scholarly readers




Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society


Book Description

The U.S. military has been continuously engaged in foreign conflicts for over two decades. The strains that these deployments, the associated increases in operational tempo, and the general challenges of military life affect not only service members but also the people who depend on them and who support them as they support the nation â€" their families. Family members provide support to service members while they serve or when they have difficulties; family problems can interfere with the ability of service members to deploy or remain in theater; and family members are central influences on whether members continue to serve. In addition, rising family diversity and complexity will likely increase the difficulty of creating military policies, programs and practices that adequately support families in the performance of military duties. Strengthening the Military Family Readiness System for a Changing American Society examines the challenges and opportunities facing military families and what is known about effective strategies for supporting and protecting military children and families, as well as lessons to be learned from these experiences. This report offers recommendations regarding what is needed to strengthen the support system for military families.




Evaluation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services


Book Description

Approximately 4 million U.S. service members took part in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Shortly after troops started returning from their deployments, some active-duty service members and veterans began experiencing mental health problems. Given the stressors associated with war, it is not surprising that some service members developed such mental health conditions as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and substance use disorder. Subsequent epidemiologic studies conducted on military and veteran populations that served in the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq provided scientific evidence that those who fought were in fact being diagnosed with mental illnesses and experiencing mental healthâ€"related outcomesâ€"in particular, suicideâ€"at a higher rate than the general population. This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the quality, capacity, and access to mental health care services for veterans who served in the Armed Forces in Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn. It includes an analysis of not only the quality and capacity of mental health care services within the Department of Veterans Affairs, but also barriers faced by patients in utilizing those services.