Introducing The First Articles Of The Veterans And Military Patient-Related Health Outcomes Thematic Series

Introducing the first articles of the veterans and military patient-related health outcomes thematic series Liana DesHarnais Castel1,2 1Lundy-Fetterman School of Business, Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC, USA; 2Clinical Performance and Quality, Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Raleigh, NC, USA Modern medicine and scientific research owe a special debt to the care and well-being of service personnel who endure, sometimes multiple, deployments in times of war and conflict. The intense nature of violent conflict, isolation and distance from their family and home, and exposure to harsh conditions and chemicals puts these populations at risk for both acute and chronic, often lifelong adverse patient-related physicaland mental health outcomes. In 2018 the Editors of Patient Related Outcome Measures launched a Thematic Series entitled Veterans and Military Patient-Related Health Outcomes, seeking to publish research studies in topics concerning veterans and military health. We invitedstudies that identify and measure clinically relevant outcomes cross-sectionally and longitudinally, as well as studies to identify the effectiveness of interventions to improve patient-related outcomes in veterans and military service personnel. In this Thematic Series, Hahn et al reported the development and validation of a patient-reported outcome measurement system for caregivers of civilians or service members/veterans with traumatic brain injury, investigating the acceptability of a computer-based survey administration platform among caregivers. The study discerned important considerations for surveying outcomes among caregivers of United States service members.1 Also, in the domain of instrument development, Gutierrez et al discussed the creation and content validity of the Military Concussion Readiness Inventoryfor Dizziness and Balance, which they developed to recognize functional impairments of dizziness and balance in service members who experienced a mild blast- or non-blastrelated traumatic brain injury.2 In a study highlighting both the persistence of symptomsand the importance of social support, Pereira et al examined family, personality, and social support variables as predictors of post-traumatic stress symptoms and quality of life in Portuguese veterans who participated in the Colonial War (1961–75).3