Military medicine
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Musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) have direct impact on occupational readiness and task performance in military populations. Until this date, no epidemiologic data have been published concerning MSI incidence in the Netherlands Armed Forces (NAF). The aim of this study was to assess the MSI incidence and related costs in the NAF. ⋯ Our study provided evidence that MSIs result in substantial financial burden. Injuries of the back, knee, and foot account for the majority of demands on curative care for MSIs.
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There is a dearth of research on the impact of pre-treatment assessment effort and symptom exaggeration on the treatment outcomes of Veterans engaging in trauma-focused therapy, handicapping therapists providing these treatments. Research suggests a multi-method approach for assessing symptom exaggeration in Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which includes effort and symptom validity tests, is preferable. Symptom exaggeration has also been considered a "cry for help," associated with increased PTSD and depressive symptoms. Recently, research has identified resilience as a moderator of PTSD and depressive symptom severity and an important predictor of treatment response among individuals with PTSD. Thus, it is important to examine the intersection of symptom exaggeration, resilience, and treatment outcome to determine whether assessment effort and symptom exaggeration compromise treatment response. ⋯ These results suggest that Veterans with PTSD whose validity testing scores are indicative of poor effort and symptom exaggeration may be less resilient but may still complete a CPT group treatment and benefit from treatment at a rate comparable to Veterans who evidence good assessment effort and genuine symptom reporting pre-treatment. These findings also challenge the assumption that pre-treatment assessment effort failure and symptom exaggeration accurately predict poor effort in trauma-focused psychotherapy.
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Neurofeedback therapy (NFT) has demonstrated effectiveness for reducing persistent symptoms following traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, its reliance on NFT experts for administration and high number of treatment sessions limits its use in military medicine. Here, we assess the feasibility of live Z-score training (LZT)-a variant of NFT that requires fewer treatment sessions and can be administered by nonexperts-for use in a military clinical setting. ⋯ LZT treatment appears to be a feasible, non-pharmacological therapy amenable to SMs. Results from this pilot study promote further investigation of LZT as an intervention for SMs with persistent symptoms following TBI.
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Airway obstruction is the second leading cause of preventable death on the battlefield. Most airway obstruction occurs secondary to traumatic disruptions of the airway anatomical structures. However, casualties may require airway interventions for other indications (e.g., depressed mental status). We describe casualties undergoing airway intervention in the prehospital, combat setting without apparent upper airway trauma. ⋯ In this subgroup analysis of casualties without apparent upper airway trauma, survival rates were lower when compared to our previous report. Higher quality data are necessary to better understand the resuscitation needs of this critically ill subset of combat casualties.
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Any implicit and explicit biases that exist may alter our interpretation of people and events. Within the context of assessment, it is important to determine if biases exist and to decrease any existing biases, especially when rating student performance to provide meaningful, fair, and useful input. The purpose of this study was to determine if the experience and gender of faculty members contribute to their ratings of students in a military medical field practicum. This information is important for fair ratings of students. Three research questions were addressed: Were there differences between new versus experienced faculty raters? Were there differences in assessments provided by female and male faculty members? Did gender of faculty raters impact ratings of female and male students?. ⋯ The study revealed that there were no differences in ratings of student leader performance based on faculty experience. In addition, there were no differences in ratings of student leader performance based on faculty gender.