Impact of mindfulness training and yoga on injury and pain-related impairment: a group randomized trial in basic combat training.

Introduction: Service members are at risk for pain-related difficulties in functioning and physical injury. Previous studies suggest that mindfulness training (MT) and yoga may prevent these outcomes. The present study was designed to determine the impact of MT and yoga on the health, pain, and injury of Army trainees completing 10 weeks of basic combat training (BCT).

Optimizing Performance and Mental Skills With Mindfulness-Based Attention Training: Two Field Studies With Operational Units.

Introduction: Mental skills such as focusing attention and managing emotions are essential for optimal performance in high-stress occupations. Studies with military samples have demonstrated that mindfulness training (MT) led to improved computer-based cognitive performance.

Materials And Methods: To examine the impact of MT on operational performance, mental skills, and psychological health, a short-form program, Mindfulness-Based Attention Training (MBAT), was delivered to active duty soldiers as part of two randomized trials.

Self-reported mindfulness and soldier health following a combat deployment.

Objective: Combat exposure has been linked to health-related challenges associated with postcombat adjustment, including mental health symptoms, behavior-related problems, physical pain, and functional impairment. Mindfulness, or acceptance of the present moment without reactivity or judgment, may be associated with better mental health following a combat deployment. This study examined whether self-reported mindfulness predicted soldier health outcomes over the course of the postdeployment period.

Concurrent Validity of the Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale in VA Outpatients.

Objective: The purpose of this report is to investigate the concurrent validity of the Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale (DVPRS) with other validated self-report measures in U.S. veterans.

CAM utilization among OEF/OIF veterans: findings from the National Health Study for a New Generation of US Veterans.

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly seen as an adjunct to traditional plans of care. This study utilized a representative sample of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans and OEF/OIF-era veterans to explore the prevalence and characteristics of CAM users.

Research Design: The National Health Study for a New Generation of US Veterans (NewGen) is a longitudinal health study of a population-based cohort of OEF/OIF (deployed) and OEF/OIF-era (nondeployed) veterans.

Work in cancer survivors: a model for practice and research.

Introduction: As with other illnesses, several variables can impact the transition back to the workplace, long-term work productivity, or job retention among cancer survivors. We developed a model related to work and cancer based in part on the general area of work disability and the specific literature on cancer survivors and work.

Methods: A systematic search of the literature on work and cancer was conducted to determine whether an evidence base existed to support the proposed model.