Seeking advice from active and retired military personnel

[zakmatthews 14]

Hi all,

 

My name is Matt, and I've been a member here for a while now. I'm an avid shooter and outdoorsman. I'm also a graduate student studying Clinical Neuropsychology, and I plan to dedicate my career to helping injured war veterans and their families.

 

This is a very nonconventional post for be, but it's also very serious. So, if you're active or retired military, or are familiar with issues concerning the military, I would sincerely appreciate you taking some time to read this.

 

For my Thesis and eventually my Dissertation, I want to conduct research with military personnel. As you might imagine, this can be difficult without going through a government or military organization. So I need some help and advice.

 

I will be researching soldiers who received traumatic brain injuries, and I want to determine if/how this can contribute to post-traumatic stress disorder. To reach accurate conclusions, I also need to research soldiers who did not receive traumatic brain injuries, but who were in combat nonetheless. Ideally, I need 40 participants: 20 soldiers who received traumatic brain injuries (Group A), and 20 soldiers who were immediately present while a corresponding injured soldier received a traumatic brain injury (Group B ). Finding participants who meet this criteria will be immensely challenging, but it will yield critical research that has not yet been explored by any military or government organization. It will help guide medical and psychological treatment for injured soldiers as they rehabilitate.

 

My questions:

 

- How can I find soldiers who received traumatic brain injuries (Group A)?

- How can I find soldiers who were immediately present (Group B ) while a corresponding soldier from Group A received a traumatic brain injury?

- How should I respectfully approach them to request their participation and consent?

- Any other suggestions?

 

I have deep respect for the men and women who serve in our military. Please help me serve them.

 

Sincerely,

 

Matt

 

Edit: Research will consist of some self-administered questionnaires assessing for things like traumatic brain injury, combat experiences, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. They will be completed via the internet or snail mail.

Edited April 6, 2009 by zakmatthews

[Vultite 57]

Without being directly related to a VA hospital or a friend/family member of someone in the hospital, you'll probably be shut out because of strict policies (at least in FL) I would advise you to talk to a director of a local VA hospital (especially one with polytrauma and spinal centers) A lot of soldiers who have recieved brain injuries and are alive are in no shape to consent to anything, you'll have to ask family which is going to be gravely difficult. So that's another reason why you need to be in the good graces of the VA hospitals or you may end up being trespassed. Furthermore, guys who were next to say "john doe" who had a severe brain injury will be hard to track down. I pick up guys flown in from MacDill AFB to be transported to a VA hospital for treatment, we have a special unit to handle brain injuries but they don't live in the area, they are from all over and we just get random people.

Edited April 6, 2009 by Vultite

[loki0629 55]

You may also want to get the word out at your local VFW posts to see if anyone will volunteer for your study. If you do get some leads, introduce yourself and tell them exactly what you are doing without beating around the bush or dancing around the subject.

 

My two cents is that you might have better luck with an older population of vets than the current crop. My mother-in-law learned most of her father's war history (WWII vet) from conversations he would have with me. She told me that growing up, he never talked about it. I think if you pick your study group from the most recent wars then Group B will have some pretty strong defense mechanisms in place. Just something to keep in mind when you create your questionnaire.

 

Best of luck.

[protected static 19]

I have no military background, but I do have some direct familiarity with survey research methodology and second-hand familiarity with psych research.

 

+1 to what Vultite said... Matt, contact your local VA - or better yet, find out if there's anyone on your faculty who can make an introduction - you'll get a much better response from the VA if your first contact can be made that way, and your participants (or their proxies - as Vultite said, you may not be able to get informed consent from TBI patients) will be more likely to take you seriously if you come through 'official' channels. Even if your local VA doesn't exactly pan out, someone there should be able to point you in the right direction.

 

Isn't there anyone on your faculty who can hook you up? I would have thought that a neuropsych program would have had VA connections, for internships if nothing else.

 

(And good luck. I've lived through the PhD thing - my wife is a Clinical Psychologist who is currently doing some consulting for the VA.)

[zakmatthews 14]

Thanks for the responses so far guys! This is seriously a big help. I will definitley look into the regional VA and VFW locations.

 

So far, I'm working my way through a literature review. So as far as research is concerned, I'm currently at the brainstorming stage for ideas on how I can go about finding participants and collecting data. I haven't yet brought it to my faculty, but I want to have some legit ideas to present to them when I do.

[protected static 19]

In addition to your local VA, I'd do a little googling for national contacts, particularly if TBI has a national umbrella organization like the VA's National Center for PTSD. This might connect you to a researcher with archival data, since the PTSD/TBI combo is currently a hot topic. I know that original data collection is sexier, but if someone's already gone to the trouble of collecting most of the data you need, why not take advantage of it?

 

Also, while organizations like the American Legion and VFW may provide some leads, you might have better luck with groups like the DAV or maybe even medically-oriented non-profits like Fisher House.

 

[edited to add: it doesn't look like there's a National Center for TBI as such. The buzzword you're looking for appears to be polytrauma.]

Edited April 6, 2009 by protected static

[KrisFox 69]

- How can I find soldiers who were immediately present (Group B ) while a corresponding soldier from Group A received a traumatic brain injury?

- How should I respectfully approach them to request their participation and consent?

Well you found one for Group B

Edited April 6, 2009 by KrisFox

[zakmatthews 14]

In addition to your local VA, I'd do a little googling for national contacts, particularly if TBI has a national umbrella organization like the VA's National Center for PTSD. This might connect you to a researcher with archival data, since the PTSD/TBI combo is currently a hot topic. I know that original data collection is sexier, but if someone's already gone to the trouble of collecting most of the data you need, why not take advantage of it?

 

Also, while organizations like the American Legion and VFW may provide some leads, you might have better luck with groups like the DAV or maybe even medically-oriented non-profits like Fisher House.

 

[edited to add: it doesn't look like there's a National Center for TBI as such. The buzzword you're looking for appears to be polytrauma.]

 

The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research - Psychiatry and Neuroscience (WRAIR-PN) are my two best options for military/government-based organizations. I have plans to contact them once I get a better handle on things.

 

You're right about archival data, it could be useful, and it isn't as sexy. But I don't know how useful it would actually be, since my approach to this phenomenon is so novel that data I need may never have been collected. It could be useful in finding participants, but because of HIPAA etc., and me having no association with military, I'm afraid that might be a dead end.

 

Ideally, what I have in mind is a sort of snowball effect, to where I can find a handful of willing participants who can help me get this rolling. Then, through networking and tracking down fellow soldiers, develop a solid base of potential research participants. Then I'd get informed consent and start collecting data.

Edited April 6, 2009 by zakmatthews