DCoE Blog

• Fortify Caregivers to Prevent Compassion Fatigue

  Posted by Sidney R. Hinds III, DCoE Public Affairs on September 23, 2016

  

  Compassion fatigue is a natural occurrence that may affect health care providers and the quality of care they provide to patients, a professor of social work said in a psychological health webinar hosted last month by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

  Brian E. Bride, a professor of social work at Georgia State University and editor in chief of “Traumatology: An International Journal,” outlined the risks of compassion fatigue. Bride also explained strategies caregivers can apply to minimize its impact on their mental states and on the care they provide.

  Compassion fatigue occurs in caregivers who regularly treat patients who have experienced trauma. This secondhand trauma can produce symptoms identical to those of posttraumatic stress disorder, including intrusive thoughts, irritability, loss of emotional control and loss of concentration. These symptoms may affect providers’ ability to respond to patients.

  Recent studies of health care providers indicate that close to half of providers experience compassion fatigue and a significant portion say it negatively affects their work.

  Categories: DCoE Webinar Rewind, Resilience, DCoE Products, DCoE, Treatment, Psychological Health   |   Comments (0)

• Counting Sheep? 10 Tips to Help Foster Healthy Sleep Habits

  Posted by Sarah Heynen, DCoE Public Affairs on August 10, 2016

  

  Sleep is important for healthy brain function, emotional well-being and overall good physical health. But many service members and veterans are not getting the sleep they need. A study conducted by Rand Corp. determined about 70 percent of deployable service members reported six hours or less of sleep per day, almost half said they sleep poorly and one-third felt fatigued three to four times per week.

  Psychological health concerns or a traumatic brain injury (TBI) may make sleep even more difficult. Sleep disturbances are common for those recovering from a brain injury, while nightmares are common for those who have experienced trauma. Making simple changes to your behavior and environment — sleep schedule, bedtime habits and daily lifestyle choices — can help you get a better night’s rest.

  Categories: Sleep, DCoE Products, Patients, DCoE   |   Comments (0)

• TBI Patients Can Benefit from Performance Triad Plan

  Posted by Mikelle D. Smith, DCoE Public Affairs on August 4, 2016

  

  Most clinicians know that patients achieve optimum physical health by eating healthy nutrient-based foods, staying active and consistently getting at least eight hours of quality sleep every night. But for patients with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), these tasks may be challenging.

  “Regardless of the mechanism of injury, TBI can result in significant neurological impairment, acute clinical symptoms and functional disturbances,” said Gary McKinney, chief, office of clinical practice and clinical recommendations at Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC).

  McKinney and other experts from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, spoke about how primary care providers can apply the key focus areas of the Army Performance Triad (sleep, activity and nutrition) to boost patient recovery from TBI during a Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) webinar July 14.

  Categories: DCoE Webinar Rewind, Traumatic Brain Injury, DCoE Products, DCoE, Providers, Treatment   |   Comments (0)

• Founding Father’s Advice Good for Your Mental Health

  Posted by Myron J. Goodman, DCoE Public Affairs on August 1, 2016

  

  Founding father and skilled scientist Benjamin Franklin shared the axiom, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Although his message was most likely directed at another topic, his words offer valuable health advice.

  Understanding what is going on inside your body is just as important as being aware of your surroundings outside of it. With our busy lives, sometimes it is easy to forget how important preventive care is to our overall well-being.

  Eyes on Me

  When you take a proactive approach to your physical and mental health, such as getting enough sleep, eating the right foods and participating in plenty of exercise, you can help prevent several problems before they arise. (You can read more about preventative maintenance in this blog post about how to “PMCS” your way to better mental health.)

  Categories: DCoE Products, DCoE, Treatment, Psychological Health   |   Comments (0)

• Give Concussion the Red Card

  Posted by Nina Corin, DCoE Public Affairs on July 28, 2016

  

  Hey parents! Got a striker, midfielder, defender or keeper in your family? Do you know what hand ball, offside, corner and bicycle kick mean? Do you follow developments in goal line technology? Have you been heard to shout “All ball!” or “Advantage!” at the referee?

  If you answered yes to any of these questions, I’m guessing you’re a soccer mom or dad, or a soccer player yourself! You may know about injuries such as torn ligaments and pulled hamstrings. But whether your athlete is a newbie or dreams of making it to the World Cup one day, you should also add traumatic brain injury (TBI) to your vocabulary.

  As soccer gains popularity in the United States and awareness of TBI grows, more eyes are on this potentially serious injury. Mild TBI, also known as concussion, is especially common among girls. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, “females participating in high school sports now have a higher incidence rate of sport-related concussions than do males.”

  A TBI is a blow or jolt to the head that disrupts the normal functioning of the brain. It can cause loss of consciousness for a brief or extended period of time, or make one feel confused or “see stars.” The injury can be mild, moderate, severe or penetrating, but most TBIs are concussions. Traumatic brain injury symptoms can be physical (headaches, dizziness), cognitive (problems with memory or concentration) or emotional (irritability or mood swings).

  Categories: Traumatic Brain Injury, DCoE Products, Patients, DCoE, Military Children   |   Comments (0)

• Former Sailor Experiences a Different Kind of TBI

  Posted by Robyn Mincher, Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center on July 25, 2016

  

  Jasmine Twine was stationed in Newport News, Virginia, when she started to notice that some things were off.

  “The shipyard had a lot of fumes, so when I started to have vision problems and headaches I thought it was due to that,” she said.

  Doctors first prescribed Jasmine new glasses and medication, but when she started having debilitating headaches, they ordered a CT scan of her brain. The scan revealed an urgent condition: a cyst on her brain that required surgery. Complications from the removal of the cyst resulted in an acquired traumatic brain injury (TBI).

  Jasmine learned that whether TBI is acquired or results from a blow or jolt to the head, the symptoms and treatment are similar.

  Categories: Traumatic Brain Injury, DCoE Products, Patients, DCoE, Treatment, A Head for the Future   |   Comments (0)