Military medicine
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Military spouses play a key role in the military family and contribute to military readiness. Despite their influence, they are an understudied population. Previous research has identified military spouses as a vulnerable group considering their unique life stressors and high mental distress; thus, it is critical to identify potential protective factors for military spouses. However, there is a lack of research exploring the role of religious coping and resilience in mental health outcomes of military spouses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of religious coping on depression, anxiety, and stress, and the extent to which the effect is mediated by resilience. ⋯ This study draws attention to the role of religious coping and resilience in mental health outcomes for military spouses. Considering the role of military spouses in supporting service members, future research should explore how to strengthen military spouses' religious coping and resilience to mitigate mental distress, thereby facilitating service member success and military readiness.
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Psychiatric conditions are one of the leading non-battle injury diseases resulting in medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) from combat environments. The challenge of limited MEDEVAC capability necessitating prolonged field care in future large-scale combat operations must be addressed. Therefore, a robust program is needed to address frontline care of behavioral health (BH), maximizing service members returning to duty and minimizing MEDEVAC. This review summarizes the literature on the impacts of the Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment, and Healing (EmPATH) Unit program as a solution to the challenges of treating behavioral health in future wars. ⋯ This is the first literature review to consider EmPATH units for psychiatric prolonged field care based on its advantages demonstrated in the civilian sector. Studies have yet to be done on EmPATH units' usefulness in the military, showing a knowledge gap in current evidence supporting its suitability. Thus, this review recommends further studies of EmPATH units in military settings, especially prolonged field care environments.
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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is among the most common conditions in the military. VA Caribbean Healthcare System (VACHS) patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) have a higher mortality rate than Veterans in other VA health care systems in the United States. The main goal of this study was to develop sociodemographic profiles and outline health characteristics of Hispanic patients with TBI treated at the VA Caribbean Healthcare System in a search for potential explanations to account for the higher mortality rate. This study advocates for equity in health services provided for minorities inside the militia. ⋯ Since explosions were the most common mechanism of injury, further research is needed into the experiences of Veterans in connection with this specific variable. A high percentage of the patients suffered from depression and PTSD. Additionally, over half of the patients had an unmeasured TBI severity. The effects these aspects have on symptomatology and how they hinder the recovery process in Hispanic patients should be examined in further detail. It is also important to highlight that family and friends' support could be key for injury treatment. This study highlights the use of the 4 types of scans (MRI, CT, PET/CT, and SPECT/CT) as ideal diagnosis tools. The alarming number of patients with suicidal thoughts should be a focus in upcoming studies. Future studies should aim to determine whether increased death rates in TBI Veterans can be linked to other United States islander territories. Concepts, such as language barriers, equal resource allocation, and the experiences of Veterans with TBIs should be further explored in this Veteran population.
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Assessing military medical teams' ability to respond to large-scale mass casualty (MASCAL) events has become a priority in preparing for future conflicts. MASCAL exercises rely on large numbers of simulated patients with limited medical training. Role-players must be appropriately prepared to ensure that medical exercises adequately assess the expected capabilities of military medical units. The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) has evaluated future military providers for decades using a large-scale, multiday, immersive simulation called Bushmaster. Despite a robust casualty training system, the fidelity of the portrayals remained limited. ⋯ This improved casualty depiction system was a feasible approach to enhance the fidelity of a MASCAL exercise. It has since been shared with military medical units around the globe to assist with their MASCAL exercises, making future multisite evaluations of this casualty depiction system possible.