Articles: health.
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Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. ⋯ Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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Many facets of military life are contributors to child health including frequent mobility, family separation, and increased risk to parental physical and mental health, as well as strong social networks and military support systems; yet, there has not been an examination of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and positive childhood experiences (PCEs) among military children. ⋯ This study complements and extends previous research that has taken a deficit approach and focused exclusively on the hardships faced by children in military families. The findings from this study may be instructive for child welfare advocates and policymakers as they intervene in communities with programming that promotes PCEs among children and adolescents.
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During training and deployment, service members (SMs) experience blast exposure, which may potentially negatively impact brain health in the short and long term. This article explores if blast exposure mitigation can be effectively achieved for four different weapon training scenarios that are being monitored as part of the CONQUER (COmbat and traiNing QUeryable Exposure/event Repository) program. The training scenarios considered here are a detonating cord linear (det linear) breaching charge, a water breaching charge, a shoulder-fired weapon, and a 120-mm mortar. ⋯ Results show that the modification of the SMs' position effectively mitigated blast exposures for all considered weapon scenarios. There was at least a 50% overpressure reduction from the initial to modified standoff distances and a 35% reduction from the change in SM body posture. Based on these observations, new locations and body positioning of SMs during training have been suggested for blast mitigation.
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Observational Study
Sleep and Military Leaders: Examining the Values, Beliefs, and Quality of Sleep and the Impact on Occupational Performance.
Sleep deprivation is rampant within the military population, and insufficient sleep can lead to physical and mental health problems impacting soldier's readiness and deployability. Past research has shown the importance of leadership's role in subordinates' sleep health. Understanding the values, beliefs, and quality of military leader sleep is essential to the development of effective interventions to optimize occupational performance and overall sleep health. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the military leaders' values, beliefs, and sleep quality and the impact on occupational performance. The authors aimed to (1) identify military leaders' sleep quality and beliefs; (2) explore the relationship between military leaders' sleep quality, beliefs and attitudes about sleep, and impact on occupational performance; and (3) examine the value leaders place on sleep for themselves and subordinates in relation to occupational performance. ⋯ This sample of military leaders was found to perceive themselves as poor-quality sleepers despite demonstrating more functional attitudes and beliefs about sleep and reporting normal-to-mild impairments in daily functioning as a result of daytime sleepiness. Furthermore, findings suggest that leaders' sleep quality and beliefs stand to be further improved, whereas their sleep values need to be consistently demonstrated to subordinates. With a clearer understanding of military leaders' values, beliefs, and sleep quality, future research could focus on implementing and developing holistically based and individualized sleep interventions intended to optimize performance and sleep health.
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Global surgery and anesthesia is an emerging field in global health and academic medicine. Promoting the education of global surgery and anesthesia among uniformed medical students is imperative and will prepare the next generation of uniformed physicians for global surgical missions through both the DoD and civilian opportunities.