All Women Veterans

[David]

sfc_darrel

Registered to :Jan 19, 2002
Messages :128
From :
Posted 05-02-2002 at 14:45
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The October 2001 Agent Orange Review just arrived in the mail.
"VA Studying Women Veterans Who Have PTSD""PTSD Common Among Women Veterans"
"Volunteers Sought for Study"
are articles on pages 4 & 5.

They are not on the net so I will post them when I get them transcribed.
Joy
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You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. Robert Heinlein


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arrow

Registered to :Aug 21, 2001
Messages :1033
From :OKLAHOMA
Posted 05-02-2002 at 16:47
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Joy..your input will be greatly apprecitated thank you...sis


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sfc_darrel

Registered to :Jan 19, 2002
Messages :128
From :
Posted 05-02-2002 at 17:12
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Arrow, that's what friends are for.
Hugs.
Joy

VA Studying Women Veterans Who Have PTSD

Many women are traumatized while serving in the military. A recent study of female veterans estimated that 60% had experiences at least one traumatic event during military service. The prevalence of serious trauma appears especially high among veterans who have served since Vietnam, who now constitute the majority of female veterans. Most often, military trauma in women involves sexual assault or rape, but other sources are physical assault, accidents, disasters, and even war-zone exposure, including medical assignments that involve exposure to seriously injured personnel.

Women also experience trauma before and after entering military service. In fact, the prevalence of sexual assault during childhood and adolescence appears to be higher in military women than in the general U.S. population.

Traumatic exposure can have profound effects on a person?s well being and functioning, and may lead to the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD occurs not only in combat veterans but also in other survivors of traumatic events such as natural disasters and interpersonal or sexual violence. Among civilian adults in the U.S., the lifetime prevalence of PTSD is 5% of men and 10% in women.

A new research project, sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Cooperative Studies Program, and the Department of Defense, is designed to address the needs of female veterans and active duty personnel who have PTSD. The new VA study, identified as VA Cooperative Study #494; A Randomized Clinical Trial of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Women, also will test the helpfulness of exposure therapy for female veterans and active duty personnel with PTSD.

PTSD Common Among Women Veterans

PTSD is a prevalent condition among women who have military service experience. A recent population sample of active duty Navy and Marine Corps personnel found that among women, 17.4% had PTSD at some time and 8.3% had current PTSD. The VA National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study estimated that 26% of women who served in Vietnam had PTSD at some point since their service, and 8.5% has PTSD at the time fo their assessment in the 1980s. Current PTSD prevalence in women who served in the Gulf War is 8-10%. Prevalence is substantially higher among women who seek VA treatment for stress-related problems: one study found that 50% of those women had current PTSD.

PTSD is associated with a range of comorbid (occurring at the same time) conditions and functional difficulties, including other anxiety disorders, depression, substance abuse, psychological impairment, poor physical health, and greater service utilization. Thus, PTSD has far-reaching effects on many aspects of the military and veterans women?s lives.

A variety of drugs and phychotherapies are used for treating PTSD. Among phychotherapies, cognitive-behavioral therapy appears to be the most promising approach. One useful cognitive-behavioral technique is ?exposure,? in which a patient is guided through a vivid remembering of a traumatic even repeatedly until the patient?s emotional response decreases through habituation.

Volunteers Sought for Study

The Study will enroll 384 women, who will be randomly assigned to receive either exposure therapy or therapy that focuses on current life problems. Both treatment will last 10 weeks, and the women will be followed for 6 months after the end of treatment to evaluate how PTSD and other symptoms respond to treatment.

The study represents a collaboration between the VA and the Department of Defense. Co-Chairs of the project are Paula P. Schnurr, Ph.D., and Matthew J. Freidman, M.D., Ph.D., from the VA?s National Center for PTSD and LTC Charles C. Engel, M.D., from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The VA National Center for PTSD is located at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, VT, where Dr. Freidman is the Executive Director and Dr. Schnurr is the Deputy Director. The biostatistician is Ken James, Ph.D., and the study is coordinated by the VACSPCC at Palo Alto, CA.

Women will be enrolled at 11 VA sites around the country: Albuquerque, Atlanta, Baltimore, Bay Pines/Tampa, Boston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas Denver, New Orleans, and Portland. There also will be a Department of Defense site in Washington, DC. Women who are interested in participating in the trial may contact the project at : csp494@nmbus.dartmouth.edu for referral to participating medical centers.

The above article was prepared and submitted by Dr. Schnurr, identified above, especially for the ?Review.?
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You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. Robert Heinlein