Programs Addressing Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Among U.S. Military Servicemembers and Their Families

摘要

Between 2001 and late 2010, over 2.2 million service members were deployed in support of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite the recent drawdown of troops in Iraq, the high operational tempo of the past decade, longer deployments, and frequent redeployments have resulted in significant mental health problems among service members. While most military personnel cope well under these difficult circumstances, many have experienced and will continue to experience difficulties related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD, an anxiety disorder that can develop after direct or indirect exposure to an event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened) or major depression. Others live with the short- and long-term psychological and cognitive consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), an injury that has become increasingly common with the growing use of improvised explosive devices on the battlefield. These issues may also have consequences for military families, as struggles related to PTSD, depression, or TBI may affect marriage and intimate relationships, the well-being of spouses and partners, parenting practices, and children's well-being. The goal of this study is to provide a 'snapshot' of all programs currently sponsored or funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) that address psychological health and TBI. In this report, we characterize these programs; identify barriers to implementing them fully and maximizing their effectiveness; and provide recommendations for clarifying the role of programs, examining gaps in routine service delivery that could be filled by programs, and reducing barriers that programs face. Our efforts focus on programs that were active during our field period, which began in December 2009 and ended in August 2010.