Effects of Deployment on Spouses

Effects of Deployments on Spouses of Military Personnel (Dissertation) 09/20/08. More than 1,000,000 service members have been deployed away from their families in the first five years since the start of the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan and Iraq. Although deployments disrupt the contribution of service members to household production, little evidence exists about the effect of deployments on spouses. This dissertation examines the effect of deployment on spousal labor force participation and household well-being. RAND

Non-VA Hospital Bills

Patients' Hospital Bills Jumped $70 Billion In Just One Year 09/20/08. Hospital charges what patients are billed for their rooms, nursing care, diagnostic tests and other services jumped from $873 billion in 2005 to $943 billion in 2006, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) via Medical News Today

VA Budget

House, Senate Veterans Committee Chairs Push To Approve VA Budget One Year in Advance 09/20/08. he chairs of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs committees are pushing for legislation that would allow Congress to approve funding for veterans' health care programs one year in advance, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, the so-called advance appropriation would separate VA health care funding from "the crush of appropriations and political horse-trading that take place at year's end." Kaisernetwork.org

Veterans' Benefits

Veterans' Benefits: Improvements Needed in VA's Training and Performance Management Systems, by Daniel Bertoni, director, education, workforce, and income security, before the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. GAO-08-1126T, September 18. Highlights

Wishful Thinking?

Blood test could soon provide PTSD diagnosis 09/19/08. The Veterans Health Administration estimates it will treat nearly six million patients this year, including more than 260,000 veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The most common mental health problem suffered by those troops is post-traumatic stress disorder, known as PTSD. There is aggressive research underway at the San Francisco Veteran's Medical Center, where scientists from UCSF are looking for changes in the blood and the brain to find treatments for victims of PTSD. abc7news.com

Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008

Omnibu Veterans’ Benefits Bill Passes Senate With Unanimous Support 09/17/08. WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, thanked his Senate colleagues and urged the House of Representatives to promptly consider S. 3023, the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008, following the bill’s Senate-passage by unanimous consent last night. U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs

Text Prompts For Individuals With TBI

Army will test cell phones to prompt trauma victims 09/17/08. The service will pilot text messaging system to send treatment prompts and monitor the health care of service members suffering from traumatic brain injuries. Government Health IT

Suicides Addressed by Committee on Veterans Affairs

Texas Tech Psychology Chairman to Address Military Suicide For Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 09/15/08. David Rudd, chairman of the Department of Psychology at Texas Tech University, will testify to the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs during a hearing titled “Oversight Hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs Suicide Prevention Hotline.” The meeting will start at 11 a.m. Tuesday (Sept. 16) in room 340 of the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C. The hearing comes after an April 21 news report on the CBS Evening News called “VA Hid Suicide Risk, Internal Emails Show.” Texas Tech University via Newswise

Veterans Journal

Veterans Journal: Military Health System is upgrading behavioral -health Web site 09/15/09. The Military Health System is planning an update late this month to its behavioral-health Web site, AfterDeployment.org., which was launched in early August. The site provides service members, their families, and veterans with online behavioral mental health tools. The Web site is a self-care solution targeting post-deployment adjustment concerns for those who might not otherwise seek out services and who want to use the site’s resources at their own pace. Veterans Journal (George W. Reilly) via projo.com

Health Effects of Weapons-Grade Tungsten Alloy

Urinary and Serum Metal Levels As Indicators of Embedded Tungsten Alloy Fragments
09/14/08. ABSTRACT Novel metal formulations are being used with increasing frequency on the modern battlefield. In many cases the health effects of these materials are not known, especially when they are embedded as fragments. Military Medicine via redOrbit

Veteran Suicides

Suicide among Discharged Psychiatric Inpatients in the Department of Veterans Affairs 09/13/08. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore correlates of the use of firearms to commit suicide. Methods: A national sample of psychiatric patients discharged from Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers was followed from the time of discharge until December 1999. The study explores state-level measures as correlates of overall suicide and suicide by firearm, controlling for individual sociodemographic characteristics and psychiatric diagnosis. The outcomes of interest were completed suicide and suicide by firearm. Results: Patients who were male, Caucasian, and who had a diagnosis of substance abuse or post-traumatic stress disorder were significantly more likely to use a firearm than another means to commit suicide. Multivariable models indicated that veterans living in states with lower rates of gun ownership, more restrictive gun laws, and higher social capital were less likely to commit suicide with a firearm. Conclusions: Gun ownership rates, legislation, and levels of community cohesiveness are significantly associated with the likelihood of psychiatric patients committing suicide with a gun. Military Medicine

Health Care Needs of Older Veterans

Evidence of Greater Health Care Needs Among Older Veterans of the Vietnam War 09/14/08. ABSTRACT: This study examined self-rated health, impairments in activities of daily living, and treatment for eight health conditions among Vietnam War-era veterans, comparing those who served in Vietnam with those who served elsewhere. Military Medicine via redOrbit