Military medicine
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Comparative Study
A comparison of morbidity in the Australian Defence Force with Australian general practice.
This study was designed to examine morbidity patterns among Australian Defence Forces members and to compare them with civilian general practice. The study was conducted in the outpatient departments of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) No. 6 Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. The patients studied were male and female members of the RAAF (66%), Army (25%), and Navy (9%). ⋯ In the 6 Hospital study, 21,910 problems were managed at 19,909 consultations. The main differences found between the two studies were that service personnel had more medical examinations, more musculoskeletal and respiratory problems, and fewer psychological and cardiovascular problems. Most of the differences observed may reflect the Defence Force's recruitment selection criteria and the emphasis on physical fitness and diet.
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Existing U.S. Army personnel and equipment authorization documents do not recognize the need for optometry services at deployed combat support hospitals (CSHs). The specific hospital tasked with the mission of supporting Operation Joint Endeavor from a support base in Taszar, Hungary, did not have any documentation authorizing the assignment of ophthalmology assets. Current Army doctrine stipulates the presence of an area support medical battalion, with assigned optometry assets, to deploy and operate near a CSH. However, in the winter of 1995, when Operation Joint Endeavor began, there were no area support medical battalions staffed in Europe, and none deployed to the Taszar support base. Therefore, the 67th CSH's mission to provide comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care on a contingency basis to all personnel in the area of operations did not have a doctrinal means of supporting an eye care requirement. ⋯ Based on the productivity presented by the case load demand of this CSH's area medical support mission, an eye care need was clearly met, adding to the overall mission success of the 67th CSH.