Improving Outcomes Following Extremity Trauma : The Need for a Multidisciplinary Approach

Extremity injuries contribute a significant amount to the overall disability of combat-injured soldiers. Tracking patient outcomes allows military health care providers to gain a better understanding of the disability associated with various injury patterns. Only recently have orthopedic surgeons begun to collect functional outcome measures, and perhaps even more importantly, have begun to collect patient-reported outcomes. There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to optimize outcomes in patients following severe extremity trauma.

Read more

Biological profiling of plasma neuropeptide Y in relation to posttraumatic stress symptoms in two combat cohorts

Military personnel have an increased risk of developing stressrelated mental health problems after deployment to a combat zone [1]. In order to decrease the risk of developing stress-related disorders, biological vulnerability and protective factors should be identified. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a peptide transmitter that is associated with modulation of the stress response. Previous studies reported reduced NPY levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [2].

Read more

People on the move : Revisiting events and narratives of the European refugee crisis (1930s-1950s)

Chapter in: 'The new yearbook of the International Tracing Service (ITS)'. This book focuses on the spatial dimension of the Holocaust and other mass crimes committed by the Nazis.

Read more

Art Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy for Combat-Related PTSD : A Randomized Controlled Trial

This randomized controlled trial was designed to determine if art therapy in conjunction with Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) was more effective for reducing symptoms of combat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than CPT alone. Veterans (N = 11) were randomized to receive either individual CPT, or individual CPT in conjunction with individual art therapy. PTSD Checklist–Military Version and Beck Depression Inventory–II scores improved with treatment in both groups with no significant difference in improvement between the experimental and control groups.

Read more

Grief Responses in U.S. Military Families Following Soldier Loss

Grief has increasingly become a focus of attention within the military, with 80 percent of redeployed soldiers reporting knowing someone who was seriously injured or killed in theater (Thomas et al., 2010; Toblin et al., 2012). Among 15,938 military service members (SMs) who died between 2001-2011, the majority of the deaths were the result of traumatic events, including accidents (34 percent), suicides (15 percent), homicides (3 percent), and terrorism (less than 1 percent) (Cozza et al., in press).

Read more

Course and Predictors of Postdeployment Fatigue : A Prospective Cohort Study in the Dutch Armed Forces.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine course and predictors of fatigue in military personnel deployed to Afghanistan.

 

Read more

Beyond Anne Frank : The Dutch Tell Their Full Holocaust Story

The diary of the young Jewish girl, who came of age hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam, has long been the dominant narrative of the Netherlands’ experience during World War II. Hers is a story of inspiration and resistance that in many ways the Dutch have promoted and chosen to remember.

But the rest of the story of the Holocaust in the Netherlands has gone largely untold, and survivors and others fear that it is in danger of being forever forgotten.

Read more

The long-term burden of military deployment on the health care system

Health care providers need to be aware that stress complaints that result from deployment can emerge even after many years. This has important implications for health care policies. The main aim of this study is to investigate the relation between the development of posttraumatic stress and other mental health complaints and the burden on (mental) health care after a deployment.

Read more

Psychiatric symptoms of Turkish combat-injured non-professional veterans

Background: It is well-known that exposure to combat puts individuals at risk for developing adverse psychological problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and health-related behaviour problems and that the presence of combat-related injury increases the risk for psychopathology. Little is known, however, about the consequences of combat among conscripted soldiers fighting against terrorism in their homeland.

Read more

Post-traumatic stress symptoms 5 years after military deployment to Afghanistan : an observational cohort study

Background
Deployment can put soldiers at risk of developing post-traumatic stress symptoms. Despite several longitudinal studies, little is known about the timing of an increase in post-traumatic stress symptoms relative to pre-deployment. Longitudinal studies starting pre-deployment, in which participants are repeatedly measured over time, are warranted to assess the timing of an increase in symptoms to ultimately assess the timing of an increase in treatment demand after deployment.
Methods

Read more

Pages