Veterans Health Digest (VHD) is dedicated to and advocates for the
physical, mental, and social well-being of veterans, active duty
military personnel, and their families.
Veterans Health Digest focuses on developments in social awareness,
research, treatment, and issues important to veterans.
VHD draws from a wide variety of sources, including news
articles, government agencies, current research, investigative
reports, and scholarly works contributed by students, academics, and
working professionals. We will also feature guest editorials
and essays written specifically for VHD.
The Veterans Health Digest website is designed to be user friendly. The navigational tools on the left indicate the general topics we track most carefully. Brief abstracts describing posted articles and links to full text are listed by posting date on each Topic Page.
VHD
credits all works to their original source.
When available,
links to the original work are provided.
Table Topics
This page, accessed through the "Interact" button, is devoted to promoting civil discourse among our readership about articles found here and "Table Topics" questions and propositions.
Table Topics questions will be posted to prompt active discussion. VHD invites our readers to contribute Table Topics questions. If you wish to propose a question for discussion, please contact_us and put “Table Topics” in the subject line. We look forward to your contributions.
Current Questions:
Use the "Interact" Button to Weigh in on These Questions:
2.26.08 Is PTSD an Injury?
Dr. Jonathan Shay, a VA psychiatrist and leading PTSD expert, has proposed that combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder be reclassified from a disorder to an injury (See “Chaplain Struggles with PTSD from Time in Iraq” by Jane Arraf on the OEF/OIF page).
- Do you think this would be appropriate?
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What would be the consequences of reclassifying PTSD as an injury?
2.28.08 A New Gulf War Syndrome?
Not all physical injuries are readily apparent. Following the Vietnam War, the effects of Agent Orange emerged, taking years of legal and medical struggle before recognition. Following the first Gulf War, veterans complained of symptoms in a cluster that became known as "Gulf War Syndrome," which is yet to be fully recognized by the medical community.
- What is the likelihood of a future "OEF/OIF" Syndrome?
- Are reports circulating among these veterans of unique unexplained physical symptoms?
- If this is the case, what proactive steps should be taken by the VA, the medical community, and by veterans themselves?