Military medicine
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This study aimed to determine whether preventive health assessment currency and medical nondeployability rates were the same for all active duty members in the U.S. Air Force. ⋯ Evidence of disparities in medical deployability rates for Asian/Pacific Islanders, non-Hispanic Blacks, and senior enlisted active duty members suggest that further investigation is warranted to ensure existing policy and procedures do not contribute to health disparities.
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Evaluate the resource-constrained, evidence-based, and outcome-driven Sacco Triage method (STM) for military-age victims of blunt, penetrating, and blast overpressure-like trauma. ⋯ STM offers lifesaving and operational advantages for military-age victims of blunt, penetrating, and blast overpressure-like trauma.
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To address potential equity concerns about the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) process for adjudicating military service-related disability claims. ⋯ Veterans' needs were not overshadowed by factors related to demographic background or access (e.g., race, gender, insurance), reducing concerns about disparities in general VA disability disbursements. These data are timely as disability claims/payments will likely increase dramatically in the near future because of current conflicts in the Middle East.
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In federal fiscal year (FY) 2005 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) implemented the comprehensive Mental Health Strategic Plan (MHSP). This study used performance measures from six broad domains to examine changes in the overall delivery of mental health services in the VA since the implementation of the MHSP. Performance measures from fiscal year 2004, the year before implementation of the MHSP, were compared with measures from fiscal years 2005, 2006, and 2007, the first 3 years of MHSP implementation. ⋯ The domains with the greatest improvement (>1.0 standard deviation units) from FY 2004 to FY 2007 were population coverage/access, outpatient care quality, economic performance (primarily efficiency), and global functioning. There was a 0.3 standard deviation decline in inpatient satisfaction and a slight increase in reliance on inpatient care. Overall improvement in VA mental health care was thus substantial and continuing.