Military medicine
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Gender disparity in medicine has drawn increased attention in the form of root cause analysis and programmatic solutions with the goal of equity. Research indicates that mentoring, guidance, and support, which include the provision of social and academic guidance and support from more experienced practitioners, can mitigate challenges associated with gender disparity. The purpose of this study was to explore women medical students' self-reports of mentorship during their time at Uniformed Services University (USU), if women report similar levels of mentorship as compared to men, and if levels of characteristics associated with mentoring (eg, social support, academic guidance) changed over time. ⋯ Although mentorship is cited as a key factor in mediating gender disparity in medicine, other STEM fields, and the military, the findings suggest that there is equity at the USU undergraduate medical education level. Further studies are needed to understand if disparities in mentorship experiences occur at other stages of a military physician's career, such as graduate medical education, faculty and academic promotion levels.
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The National Statistical Yearbook of Defense 2018 issued by the Republic of Korea (ROK) Ministry of National Defense reported that the number of patients using military hospitals steadily increased from 2008 to 2017. However, in the outpatient clinic statistics for years 2015-2017 from the ROK Armed Forces Medical Command, the amount of medical care received from some medical departments, such as the infection medicine, surgery, and anesthesiology departments, decreased. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to observe the differences in incidence of military personnel's unmet healthcare needs according to number of diseases by type. ⋯ This study suggests that unmet healthcare needs are influenced by the number of disease by the type of ROK military personnel. It is therefore necessary to strive to reduce the number of military personnel who experience unmet healthcare needs through this data.
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Glaucoma surgical practice patterns are not well described in the United States (US). This study aims to evaluate the indications for and potential barriers to glaucoma surgery in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). ⋯ This survey of glaucoma surgery practice patterns highlights the growing role of LTP and suggests that non-compliance and access remain significant barriers to glaucoma surgical care within the VHA.
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Malnutrition, suboptimal hydration, and inadequate body composition can have negative consequences on soldiers' performance and health. A recent consensus statement concerning "soldiers' physical performance" points to the scarcity of data in specific military populations. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to assess and compare dietary intake, hydration status, and body composition of three military groups during their specific military training. ⋯ The present study showed that military men are not always adequately fed nor hydrated. These issues should be resolved by creating nutritional packages, and individual dietary and hydration strategies, all in function of military planning and weather conditions.
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Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination compliance as reported by the CDC in 2011 falls short of a national goal to have 80% of adolescents vaccine-complete by 2020. The Naval Aviation Schools Command, Pensacola, Florida offers a single point of contact for military aviation trainees offering near-complete capture of an HPV vaccine target population. The purpose of this study is to identify baseline HPV vaccination rates among military aviation trainees and whether or not the provision of educational materials at the start of aviation training would increase future HPV vaccination compliance. ⋯ Electronic health records immunizations review noted a baseline vaccine completion rate of 19%. Our study showed a health inequity between enlisted and officers, with officers having 99% of the documented baseline completion rates per AHLTA data. Our prospective analysis noted statistically significant rate differences of 13.66% and rate ratios of 5.61 between intervention and control groups. This analysis of AHLTA data combined with survey response of 50.5% indicating a change in opinion about HPV vaccine use among those who had not yet started vaccine series suggests targeted education would be a low-cost intervention to improve HPV vaccine use rates.