Preventing Disease and Non-Battle Injury in Deployed Units

Abstract

Most military physicians know that disease and non-battle injuries (DNBIs) have historically caused more death during war than battle injury. Most DNBIs are preventable, but many unit surgeons and physician assistants, especially at battalion/squadron and brigade/wing level, may not have had the benefit of preventive medicine training or experience. The authors present a logical and thorough framework that all unit surgeons can use to organize their preventive efforts.

A 12-Year Analysis of Nonbattle Injury Among US Service Members Deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan

“…Nonbattle injury (NBI) in deployed US military service members increases the burden on the military health care system, reduces the available fighting force, and has a preventable component . Leading causes are attributed to physical training, falls, and sports injuries .…”

“…onbattle injury (NBI) in deployed US military service members increases the burden on the military health care system, reduces the available fighting force, and has a preventable component. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Leading causes are attributed to physical training, falls, and sports injuries. 4,5,7 Nonbattle injury among deployed forces may have different possible causes, deplete medical resources, increase costs, decrease mission capabilities, and result in long-term disability for injured service members.…”

A disease and non‐battle injury model based on Persian Gulf War admission rates

“…DNBI have had an adverse impact on military units in the field for centuries [McKee et al, 1998]. Efforts to reduce the DNBI rate have been increased in recent years, including development of a preventive medicine framework by military physicians [Withers et al, 1994], personal attention from the Army Surgeon General [Peak, 2000], and an evaluation of injuries by the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board [Jones and Hansen, 2000;. There has been widespread surveillance of DNBI incidence across a variety of operations [Withers et al, 1994;McKee et al, 1998;Blood and Walker, 1999;Gambel et al, 1999;Writer et al, 2000;Taylor et al, 2001], and the rates have been examined from many angles, including variability with battle intensity [Blood and Gauker, 1993;Blood and Anderson, 1994], differences between combat and support troops [Blood and Jolly, 1995], and effect of previous hospitalizations [Brundage et al, 2002].…”

Survey of U.S. Army Soldiers' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Personal Protection Measures to Prevent Arthropod-Related Diseases and Nuisance Bites

“…Army soldiers are prepared to use PPMs in the field, a survey using both questionnaires and small-group interviews was conducted at 13 military training locations. The survey focused on service members' knowledge, attitudes,and practices regarding the U.S. military's system of PPMs and repellents in general.…”