First and foremost - I cannot actually begin to formally collect data until June of 2014, as I will have to meet with an IRB to both receive approval and to establish how to best ensure research participant/interviewee privacy.
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I am posting this now to collect a tentative contact list of professional scholars and healthcare providers who would be willing to (without violation of HIPA, any binding NDAs, or violations of U.S. Armed Forces/U.S. Government OPSEC) be interviewed regarding the quality of American neurological healthcare as practiced upon combat veteran TBI patients.
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The ultimate goal is to identify any serious inadequacies in any aspect of standard TBI care practices, as well as, on the other end of the spectrum; relatively successful techniques or therapies that the medical healthcare institution has endorsed as being effective in maximizing TBI detection rates and/or treating TBI damage/symptoms as well as the PTSD that so-often accompanies TBI patients wounded in combat.
The wider the variety of the PhDs/MDs I am able to interview, the more likely I will be able to produce a quality piece of research blending objective, quantitative data with subjective, qualitative data which will provide insight into the humanistic element of healthcare which is often overlooked by those professional researchers whose work is intended to help alleviate suffering in a very vulnerable and under-served patient demographic.
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If you are interested in providing your professional opinion as a future research participant and are unconcerned with publicly announcing their wish to participate in this project; please post a response or send me a short message in which you describe any relevant ethos, whether you are involved with patient care or research (or both), and whether or not you have had interpersonal interactions with combat veterans who have been diagnosed with TBI and/OR PTSD which have influenced your respective level of satisfaction with the way American doctors treat TBI and/OR PTSD. (friends, family, spouses, etc.)
Any individuals who respond favorably to my initial request will have their RG account URLs recorded on an unsecured medium to be stored until I receive guidelines from an IRB, after which the actual ethnographic interviews will begin.
I'd be willing to but:
1) Does it matter that I'm not US-based?
2) Does veterinary healthcare count?
3) What are the exclusion criteria?
Thanks,
Jonathan
1. Well, actually - it might be quite helpful to have an outsider's opinion (especially one that operates under the same broad culture of scientific medicine as can be found in all Western civilizations).
2. Veterinary knowledge would only be applicable if you were able to use your knowledge of pharmacology in general to make broader observations (e.g. GABA agonists do not make for an adequate long-term solution to chronic anxiety and insomnia due to the pharmacokinetic effects induced by longterm usage in a mammalian CNS, etc.)
3. If you are close to any British military servicemen or servicewomen, I would absolutely love to hear how the U.K. manages its healthcare of veterans suffering from TBI comorbid with PTSD.
If you lack those connections, but still wish to help - I could still make use of a brief description of how the second most committed military in Afghanistan with a very similar culture (and with a more progressive healthcare system) handles these issues. I could include a contrasting chart with some simple figures on how many TBIs and cases of PTSD are diagnosed per year, as well as military suicides and in-patient hospitalizations after they've returned home.
If you are unable/unwilling to do that, then that's no huge loss. If you are willing, then it would add some appealing international context!
And as a post-script; I'd like to say that it's heart-warming to see a Briton willing to take time out of their week to help out American war-wounded.
I think I'm probably excluded... but please keep me up to date. Not sure I can promise a lot but if I know any connections/directions, very happy to offer what I can.
Do you have any colleagues who might be able to assist with providing the data I was hoping for?
Hi Phil, I am willing to contribute and will share your request with the 9 others in my cohort. Best of Luck, Gina
P.s. please email your request to me at [email protected] and I will forward it on
Well, this question is from a year or more ago so you hopefully will be done. But if not, I am a retired old Neuropsychologist turned military PTSD therapist and program developer. I ran the PTSD clinic at Fort Hood for several years and treated lots of AD soldiers with both PTSD and TBI. I also know a lot about the Intrepid Centers. Glad to be interviewed. I'd also like to know what you found... [email protected]
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