VA health care overview


Book Description




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.













Combating Tobacco Use in Military and Veteran Populations


Book Description

The health and economic costs of tobacco use in military and veteran populations are high. In 2007, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) make recommendations on how to reduce tobacco initiation and encourage cessation in both military and veteran populations. In its 2009 report, Combating Tobacco in Military and Veteran Populations, the authoring committee concludes that to prevent tobacco initiation and encourage cessation, both DoD and VA should implement comprehensive tobacco-control programs.










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.




Intracranial Stereotactic Radiosurgery


Book Description

In this third edition of Intracranial Stereotactic Radiosurgery, Drs. Sheehan and Lunsford provide an updated assessment of the practice of stereotactic radiosurgery. Topics include benign and malignant tumors, cerebrovascular abnormalities, and functional disorders. Several new topics are now included and focus on immunotherapy, hypofractionation, and repeat radiosurgery. Each chapter contains key figures and tables to illustrate the critical concepts of the work. Contributors to the book represent many of the most prestigious stereotactic radiosurgery centers across the world. This book is comprised of 36 chapters and represents a comprehensive update to prior editions. It is intended to be a readable, credible, and accessible reference on stereotactic radiosurgery. Editors Jason Sheehan, MD, PhD, FACS, FAANS, is the Vice Chair and Harrison Distinguished Professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of Virginia (UVA). He also serves as the Neurosciences Service Line Director at UVA. Dr. Sheehan is the current chair of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) Section on Tumors. He serves as the Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Neuro-Oncology. L. Dade Lunsford, MD, serves as the Lars Leksell Professor and Distinguished Professor at the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also director of the Center for Image-Guided Neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and an internationally recognized authority on stereotactic surgery, radiosurgery, and minimally invasive surgery. He has authored or coauthored more than 1,000 scientific reports and 16 books.