Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services
Vol. 48 No. 2 February 2010
By Frances I. Snell, MSN, PMHNP; Margaret Jordan Halter, PhD, PMHCNS
ABSTRACT
Improvised explosive devices are the weapons of choice
for the insurgent enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan. More soldiers are surviving
these blast injuries due to improved torso protection yet are sustaining head
and neck wounds in numbers that exceed those from previous wars. Although
moderate and severe traumatic head injuries are easily identified and
aggressively treated, mild traumatic brain injuries (m-TBIs), or concussions,
had previously been deemed inconsequential and often overlooked. Recently,
however, the U.S. Department of Defense and Veterans Health Administration have
placed emphasis on identifying service members at risk for m-TBI because a
select number continue to have disabling symptoms that can negatively affect
quality of life. Research regarding the effects and treatment of blast injury
are gaining momentum, but further work needs to be accomplished. This article
provides a three-question screening tool that can be used to identify these
at-risk veterans.
AUTHORS
Ms. Snell is Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse
Practitioner, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, Akron Community-Based
Outpatient Clinic, and Dr. Halter is Associate Professor, University of Akron
College of Nursing, Akron, Ohio. Ms. Snell is also a Colonel in the U.S. Army
Reserves, 256th Combat Support Hospital, Twinsburg, Ohio.
The authors disclose that they have no significant
financial interests in any product or class of products discussed directly or
indirectly in this activity, including research support.
Address correspondence to Frances I. Snell, MSN, PMHNP,
Akron VA Outpatient Clinic, 55 W. Waterloo Road, Akron, OH, 44319; e-mail:
Frances.Snell@va.gov.
Received: June 5, 2009
Accepted: September 29, 2009
Posted: January 22, 2010
doi:10.3928/02793695-20100108-02
