College of Social Work, Hamilton College, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
Int J Methods Psychiatr Res. 2019 Sep;28(3):e1788. doi: 10.1002/mpr.1788. Epub 2019 Aug 2.
Warrior Transition Units (WTUs) are specialized military units co-located with major military treatment facilities providing a Triad of Care involving primary care physicians, case managers, and military leadership to soldiers needing comprehensive medical care. We describe the rationale and methods for studying behavioral health care in WTUs and characterize soldiers assigned to WTUs.
The Army Warrior Care Project (AWCP) analyzes U.S. Department of Defense Military Health System data to examine behavioral health problems and service utilization among Army soldiers who were assigned to WTUs after returning from Afghanistan and Iraq deployments, FY2008-2015.
WTU members (N = 31,094) comprised 3.5% of the AWCP cohort (N = 883,091). Almost all (96.5%) had one WTU assignment for a median of 327 days; 77.3% were assigned before deployment ended, ≤30 or >365 days post-deployment; 59.4% had deployment-related behavioral health diagnoses.
An overwhelming majority of soldiers had one WTU assignment for almost a year. A substantial proportion of WTU soldiers had psychological impairment, which limited performance of their military duties. The AWCP is the first longitudinal study of redeployed soldiers assigned to WTUs and provides a unique opportunity to advance our understanding of behavioral health among soldiers needing comprehensive medical care after combat deployments.
勇士转型单位（WTU）是与主要军事治疗设施并存的专门军事单位，提供包括初级保健医生、个案经理和军事领导在内的三位一体关怀，为需要全面医疗护理的士兵提供服务。我们描述了在 WTU 中研究行为保健护理的基本原理和方法，并描述了分配到 WTU 的士兵的情况。
陆军勇士关爱计划（AWCP）分析美国国防部军事卫生系统的数据，以检查 2008 年至 2015 年期间从阿富汗和伊拉克部署返回后被分配到 WTU 的陆军士兵的行为健康问题和服务利用情况。
WTU 成员（N=31094）占 AWCP 队列（N=883091）的 3.5%。几乎所有人（96.5%）都有一次 WTU 分配，平均为 327 天；77.3%在部署结束前，≤30 或>365 天后被分配；59.4%有与部署相关的行为健康诊断。
绝大多数士兵有一次 WTU 分配，为期近一年。相当一部分 WTU 士兵有心理障碍，这限制了他们履行军事职责的能力。AWCP 是对被分配到 WTU 的重新部署士兵进行的第一项纵向研究，为我们理解战斗部署后需要全面医疗护理的士兵的行为健康提供了一个独特的机会。
