Purpose: To describe well-being in military reserve health care providers post deployment or mobilization Background: A comprehensive literature review exhibited that during a deployment or mobilization, military health care providers endure stressful and uncomfortable situations, spend time away from their family, friends and usual home comforts leaving them feeling completely changed. These circumstances can negatively affect a provider’s well-being. Moreover, although the literature outlines military and psychological symptoms including combat stressors, mental health concerns such as depression and anxiety, job stress, work performance and resiliency, there is a gap in the literature regarding well-being among military health care providers post deployment or mobilization. Methods: This project used a qualitative descriptive methodology with face-to-face interviews to describe the phenomenon of well-being among three United States reserve military health care providers post deployment or mobilization. Data was collected using semi-structured, open ended questions, allowing the participants an opportunity to discuss and further elaborate on their experiences, perspectives and feelings. Each interview began with pre-established questions and further questions and discussions were guided by the participants’ earlier responses. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed into text, allowing me to identify commonalities of experiences, perspectives and feelings among the participants. Results: Analysis of the interview data revealed information associated with transitions and can be grouped into five categories. The categories that impacted the participants’ well-being post deployment or mobilization include: separation from family and friends, austere living conditions, exhaustion from long work hours, consecutive work days without days off and being unprepared for what was to come. Implications: This project describes well-being in military reserve health care providers post deployment or mobilization. Findings from this small project may be used to develop research studies to describe and understand the concept of well-being among military health care providers. Armed with better understanding, we could then develop interventions to prepare our military health care providers to deliver high quality care during overseas deployment or mobilization while also maintaining their physical and mental well-being.

The objective of this research is to review the degree of United States Army compliance in the implementation of evidence-based design practices within the Military Health System construction cycle. This research looks at the impact of the 2007 Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs memorandum directing the use of evidence-based design within the Military Healthcare System construction process. The memorandum impacted the military medical construction process that includes over 6.2 billion dollars in government programmed military medical construction covering 9.2 million beneficiaries. An analysis of federal construction documents, interviews, and an online survey was conducted with 85 government and civilian healthcare facility planners to measure general evidence-based design knowledge, direct knowledge of medical construction policy requirements, and the level to which the Military Health System Evidence-based Design Principles matrix has been implemented within four selected military medical construction projects. Results of the review of construction publications show minimal evidence of evidence-based design incorporation with key federal regulatory documents. The results of an online survey conducted during the research had a 65.8% response rate (39 government personnel, 17 civilian personnel). The survey showed that basic knowledge of evidence-based design was present, but revealed severe deficiencies in specific knowledge and application of construction policies. Review of selected medical facilities demonstrated non-standardized incorporation of evidence-based design features. This research concludes that evidence-based design has achieved minimal integration into the Military Health System general knowledge base and project execution. Achieving compliance with the 2007 directive memorandum requires that significant efforts be made in personnel training and reconciliation with federal military medical construction documents.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Human Nutrition / Mark D. Haub / Mark D. Haub / Psychological problems and human error are leading causes of death and disability among military service members. Strategies to improve the psychological health and cognitive performance of those in the military are much needed. Recent advances in neuroscience suggest that omega-3 fatty acids may play an important role in the psychological well-being of those in the military. The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between omega-3 status and psychological outcome variables among soldiers deploying to combat. Data collection was preceded by the development and reliability testing of a novel food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) designed to capture intake from contemporary sources of omega-3 fatty acids including functional foods and supplements. Based on the instrument assessment study (Chapter 2) conducted among university students (n = 165), this FFQ appears to be a comprehensive and reliable (n = 54, ρ = 0.86, p < 0.001) instrument for measuring docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) intakes in young adults. As described in Chapter 3, intake of EPA + DHA as estimated by the FFQ was positively correlated (r = 0.39, p < 0.001) with biomarker measurements of omega-3 status. Primary data were obtained from a volunteer sample of soldiers (n = 272) scheduled for deployment to Iraq. Preliminarily analyses revealed relationships between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) screening scores and psychological outcome variables (Chapter 4). Primary analyses (Chapter 5) indicated intake of EPA + DHA was not significantly correlated with mood, nor were omega-3 exposure variables correlated with cognitive performance based on the required p value (< 0.001) calculated using the Bonferroni correction for multiple tests. Among participants with EPA + DHA intakes at or below the median, omega-3 HUFA was related (p < 0.002) to happiness (β = -0.46), depression (β = 0.44), and fatigue (β = 0.43). Although exploratory in nature, the results of this study suggest a relationship between omega-3 fatty acids and mood. Given the current concerns regarding the psychological health of those in the military, additional research is warranted.

Thesis (M.M. (Security))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Public and Development Management, 2013. / Performance Management (PM) is one of the most important formal management tools that organisations use in the evaluation of individual job performances and potential. The organisation uses this tool to arrive at human resource decisions that further the goals of the individual and the organisation. The purpose of this descriptive quantitative study was to investigate the effectiveness of the Public Management Systems (PMS) used for middlelevel managers in the SA Military Health Services (SAMHS) Headquarters in Gauteng Province. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Microsoft Excel statistics functions were used to calculate the totals, produce tables, graphs, and pie charts. The main finding of the study was that “an effective PMS could be implemented fruitfully if the emphasis is on proper implementation”. It was established that although much momentum has been gained with the implementation of the PMS in the SAMHS HQ critical issues such as communication, performance reviews, and performance reward need to be addressed by management.

The thesis deals with the profession of a military nurse. We can assert that the official study of military, non-medical health-care related qualifications and its use in practice not only for military purposes dates back to the fifties of the last century. However, women as health care professionals, consequently in uniforms, have always been an actual issue. The development of health care activities always existed, however, we must not neglect influence of scientific and medical findings. The historical timeline of development of medical care in the battle field was recorded and ranges from pre-historical healing. The way of Christian medicine was negatively influenced by the Catholic Church. The dark period of the Middle Ages had actually wrested medical performance from the hands of specialists and the suffering were left to the "tender" mercies of the priests. The following part of the thesis concerns modern medicine where enlightenment reforms were exercised. Some of the original six-month courses for military surgeons were organised in this period of time; they weretransformed into Military Surgical Academy, out of which the famous Josefinum originated. A expression of humanity which supported a form of health care of war veterans was demonstrated by constructing buildings for invalid people. The second half of the nineteenth century is characterized by the phenomenon of the presence of nuns in military hospitals. This study goes further in depth of professionally organized healthcare right in the battle field, which dates back from the era of wars in the Crimea.This stage describes the transformation of caring into nursing which requires the necessity of specialized preparation of persons providing nursing practice. In addition, Henry Dunant engraved himself into the history of the profession of a nurse, as the founder of the Red Cross, who first trained health care professionals for working within armed intentions of the state. The continuation of this action sketches out the process of providing first aid in principal armed conflicts of the twentieth century. It describes the functioning of commander operated military health service of that time. WWI drove Czech medical staff to both sides of the front where they provided medical help to the injured. Nurses of the WWII already performed their duties in uniforms as the rightful members of the army. The thesis also mentions post-war usage of military health care professionals in secret foreign missions and their specialized erudition.Last but not least, it marginally discusses contemporary possibilities of modern health care service of the Army of the Czech Republic. The goal of the endeavours of writing this thesis was to chart out clearly the development of the profession of a military nurse within the historical context, focusing mainly on women coming from Czech regions. In order to make the history background concerning specific female participants of the world war conflicts understandable to the reader, this paper reports, in broader extension, peculiar medical and nursing findings, already from the era of prehistoric civilisations. The history study method were applied for the purpose of the theoretical thesis. The methodology is based on searching, studying, sorting and the consecutive systematic objective describing of the events from the past times with the intention to propose comprehensive report on the subject given. It was necessary to study inexhaustible amount of sources to obtain awareness of historical connections. Factual information was derived by analysing of primary and mainly secondary documents. The thesis sketches out histories of military health care and the profession of a military health care professional stemmed from the exploration of appropriate written sources and conclusion of the basic findings. The intentions of the work are not only to clarify the past but also to contribute to solutions of every-day issues.

The productivity and well-being of the SANDF are dependent on the effective functioning of its individual members, positive relationships amongst various groups of members and between members and the organization. Military social work, based on occupational social work, was established in order to support the well-being of the organization. Supervisors within the South African National Defence Force play a fundamental role in the management and assistance of employees and organizational units whose performance is affected by a range of problems. These supervisors are the key role players in the identification and effective referral of 'employees whose performance is affected by problem situations. The Supervisory Training Course was developed and implemented by military social workers as a training aid to equip supervisors in appropriate ways of managing and assisting employees and organizational units. The Supervisory Training Course (a very comprehensive package) is currently presented on a small scale amongst SANDF supervisors. These supervisors are not using acquired knowledge and skills effectively regarding the management of their subordinates. This situation motivated the researcher to undertake this study. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:19:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2006-Marlone Wilson Souza.pdf: 432960 bytes, checksum: 431c37374246c5c1feb6417dd695f194 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-09-06 / This study addresses themes arising from studies on performance analysis, specifically considering the analysis of relative efficiency, through the use of the model known as DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis), as introduced by Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (1978) and based on the first studies of Farrel (1957). The technique was applied to a military health organization, the Central Army Orthodontic Clinic, aiming to propose and describe a methodology which would be capable of evaluating the relative efficiency of the clinics which make up the organization, identifying its efficient and inefficient units. The data used was obtained form the administration department of the Central Army Orthodontic clinic throughout 2005. The model conceived by Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (1978) is known as CCR and input was adopted for orientation, as the maintenance of output was used as a base searching for efficiency through the minimization of economic supplies. To put the DEA model into action, the SIAD (Integrated System of support for decision-making) programme was used, using as economic supplies the direct materials and the relevant indirect costs, considering income generated and patients treated as the product in 11 DMU (clinics). Two distinct models were created, initially comparing the economic supplies and the income (representing the financial component) and finally the same economic supplies with patients treated (representing a non-financial component), describing in each case the efficient and inefficient DMU, as well as the degree of comparison of each case. It was concluded that it is possible to evaluate the relative efficiency of DMU in an organization of this nature, and that it is feasible to use DEA as a tool to calculate the proportion of subsidies in the decision making process, also opening up the possibility for other studies in military organizations which deal with war related activities and the operational use of the armed forces. / Esta pesquisa abordou conceitos advindos de estudos sobre an?lise de desempenho, considerando especificamente a an?lise da efici?ncia relativa, atrav?s da utiliza??o do modelo denominado DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis), introduzido por Charnes, Cooper e Rhodes (1978) baseados nos primeiros estudos de Farrel (1957). A aplica??o da t?cnica foi realizada em organiza??o militar de sa?de, a Odontocl?nica Central do Ex?rcito, a fim de propor e descrever uma metodologia capaz de prover a avalia??o da efici?ncia relativa das cl?nicas que integram a organiza??o, identificando as suas unidades eficientes e/ou ineficientes. Foram utilizados os dados obtidos junto ? administra??o da Odontocl?nica Central do Ex?rcito no exerc?cio de 2005. O modelo concebido por Charnes, Cooper e Rhodes (1978), conhecido na literatura por CCR, foi escolhido e adotou-se a orienta??o input, j? que se tomou por base a manuten??o dos outputs buscando-se a efici?ncia atrav?s da minimiza??o dos insumos. Para rodar a modelagem DEA foi selecionado o programa SIAD (sistema integrado de apoio ? decis?o), carregando como insumos os materiais diretos e os custos indiretos relevantes e considerando como produtos a receita faturada e os pacientes atendidos em 11(onze) DMU (cl?nicas). Foram criados dois modelos distintos, inicialmente contrapondo-se esses insumos e a receita (componente de natureza financeira) e posteriormente os mesmos insumos com pacientes atendidos (componente de natureza n?o financeira), descrevendo-se as DMU eficientes e ineficientes em cada caso, bem como a magnitude comparativa em cada situa??o. Concluiu-se que ? poss?vel avaliar a efici?ncia relativa das DMU em organiza??o dessa natureza, demonstrando assim, como ? fact?vel o emprego da ferramenta DEA para proporcionar subs?dios no processo decis?rio, abrindo um campo para outras pesquisas em organiza??es militares que lidam com a atividade b?lica e com o emprego operacional da for?a terrestre.

The productivity and well-being of the SANDF are dependent on the effective functioning of its individual members, positive relationships amongst various groups of members and between members and the organization. Military social work, based on occupational social work, was established in order to support the well-being of the organization. Supervisors within the South African National Defence Force play a fundamental role in the management and assistance of employees and organizational units whose performance is affected by a range of problems. These supervisors are the key role players in the identification and effective referral of 'employees whose performance is affected by problem situations. The Supervisory Training Course was developed and implemented by military social workers as a training aid to equip supervisors in appropriate ways of managing and assisting employees and organizational units. The Supervisory Training Course (a very comprehensive package) is currently presented on a small scale amongst SANDF supervisors. These supervisors are not using acquired knowledge and skills effectively regarding the management of their subordinates. This situation motivated the researcher to undertake this study. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

M.Cur. / The establishment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in 1994 was coupled with problems for all the members that were integrated into the new defence force. The perception exists that members of the former non-statutory forces are receiving preferential treatment to the members of the old South African Defence Force. These perceptions create a spirit of negativity amongst members of the former statutory forces. On the other hand members of the former non-statutory forces are frustrated because they feel that top management in the SANDF is resistant to change. The South African Medical Health Service (SAMHS) is an integral part of the SANDF, and therefore the changes that took place in the last five years have had a direct effect on the members of the service, inter alia, the nursing staff It seems as though nursing service managers in the South African Military Health Service are suffering from a lack of motivation. At the moment they are also unable to motivate their subordinates. The following research questions were posed: What are the perceptions of the nursing service managers in the SAMHS with regard to their own level of motivation? What problems do the nursing service managers in the SAMHS encounter with regard to the motivation of their subordinates? Which factors motivate nursing service managers in their work setup (SAMHS and SANDF)? Which factors demotivate nursing service managers in their work setup (SAMHS and SANDF)? Which strategy must be developed to enhance the motivation of the nursing service managers in the SAMHS?

Thesis (M Social Work (Social Work))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / An exploratory research design together with a quantitative research approach were chosen to determine whether military social workers possess the necessary knowledge, skills and values to mentor Officers Commanding (OCs) in the South African Military Health Service (SAMHS). The motivation for this study was based on questions the researcher asked as to whether there was a link between the methods in social work intervention processes, supervision and mentoring processes. During the preliminary investigation, the researcher found that no prior research under this specific subject was undertaken. The researcher also determined from her role as consultant to Officers Commanding in the SAMHS, that whereas military social workers received supervision upon joining the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), OCs, received no formal mentoring. It was also found that although a mentoring policy in the Department of Defence (DOD) existed, no evidence existed that a mentoring programme was implemented in the SAMHS. The goal of the study is therefore to provide military social workers with a framework of a mentoring process for Officers Commanding in the SAMHS. The literature study firstly focused on describing the military social work environment in which the military social worker is employed, as well as theoretical frameworks that guide the military social worker’s task. Although more than one theoretical framework was discussed, the main focus was on the systems theory and ecological perspective. The work environment of the OC was also included, as well as the challenges of their functions, tasks and roles in the SAMHS. Primarily, the literature study explored the knowledge, skills and values of the military social worker and the mentoring process. The sample that was selected for this study was 46 military social workers that represented all the chief military social workers in specialist posts and those with a higher ranking from Captain to Colonel. A quantitative investigation was undertaken by means of a questionnaire which was completed in groups in the respective provinces. The results of the investigation largely confirmed the findings of the literature study namely that military social workers do fit the requirements to mentor. These requirements to mentor were evident in the results of the knowledge, skills and values of military social workers and their understanding of the parallels between the methods in social work, supervision and the mentoring process. The results gave an indication of the knowledge, skills and values of military social workers to mentor Officers Commanding in the SAMHS, and the framework of the mentoring process and how it relates to the casework, group work and supervision processes in social work. The recommendations demonstrated that a central body should be identified to coordinate and plan a mentoring programme in the SAMHS. The recommendations also include that the Directorate Social Work should provide clear guidelines on how military social workers should implement the DOD Mentoring policy, and ensure that military social workers are trained in staff development methods and its processes. The recommendations included further research: both quantitative and qualitative research by means of questionnaires and interviews with OCs, as well as monitoring and evaluation of the mentoring process. This information will benefit military social workers in their training as mentors. In implementing these recommendations, military social workers will be able to contribute significantly to the development of Officers Commanding in the SAMHS and the profession of social work.