Overview

Center scientists are actively engaged in studies of military deployment, combat stress and the mental health of active duty, Guard and Reserve and veterans. This research helps military command (leaders, physicians and mental health providers) mitigate, respond to and foster recovery from the consequences of war and other military extreme environments that can occur in combat, peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance.

In addition, a primary focus of the Center is conducting studies of the impact of deployment on servicemen and women and their families. This research includes surveillance of psychiatric problems among battle injured soldiers, and measuring the psychological effect of treating severely injured and disfigured soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan on health care providers at institutions like Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center.

Many studies of the CSTS represent collaborative work with other universities, federal agencies (e.g., the Department of Veteran Affairs, National Institutes of Health) or international collaborating centers (Norway, Israel, Australia). Working with the Deployment Health Clinical Center, Center scientists are studying how to improve behavioral and rehabilitative elements of primary care for military populations with special focus on medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) in the veteran population. This work is funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Defense, and Department of Veterans Affairs. Studies with the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve have examined the stresses on Reserve members called to active duty.

The Center’s research literature on military medicine is extensive. The CSTS database is rich in its both current and historically important publications that inform and direct current research and policy.