Military medicine
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The Asian tsunami of December 26, 2004, was one of the most devastating natural disasters in modern history. In particular, this disaster created massive, unique, public health threats, necessitating equally massive public health response efforts. The U. ⋯ The core lessons involve the importance of an early, dedicated, public health response as a component of the overall disaster relief effort, as well as seamless coordination of health sector stakeholders in the USG and with those of the international community and affected host nations, which allows each organization to play to its strengths and to avoid duplication. The Asian tsunami relief effort highlighted the value of civil-military cooperation in disaster relief, particularly in the area of public health. The prominent role of the DoD in tsunami relief efforts, including public health efforts, also yielded beneficial secondary effects by bolstering security cooperation and winning "hearts and minds" in the region.
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Objectives of this secondary analysis were to describe the prevalence of vaginal douching among 1,432 women on active duty in the military and to examine demographic and behavioral factors associated with douching. More than one-half (54.5%) of the respondents reported douching at least once in their lifetimes; 63.5% of those douched during the previous year, and 45.8% of those douched in > or = 6 of the past 12 months. ⋯ These women may benefit from specific intensive information on normal vaginal self-cleansing mechanisms and the health hazards of douching. Military efforts to diminish this self-care behavior and to enhance providers' knowledge about the scope of the problem may improve women's health and military readiness by decreasing the incidence of negative consequences of douching.