Bmj Military Health最新文献

Introduction: Defence Medical Services personnel regularly deploy overseas to deliver training activities as part of defence engagement (DE) to positively influence partners and others. There remains scope for medical planners to enhance our understanding of how to optimally use medical staff and assets for DE. We aimed to develop a tool to improve planning for DE activities delivering first aid training.

Methods: We used nominal group technique to conduct a focus group with UK experts in planning first aid training DE activities to identify and prioritise important planning considerations within a conceptual framework based on the Defence Lines of Development. We validated and refined this framework with international experts from partner nation militaries to help strengthen the final planning tool.

Results: We developed a detailed tool covering training curriculum and logistical and infrastructure requirements to deliver safe and effective DE training activities. First aid training engagement priorities include being tailored to the training audience and in harmony with the national or military healthcare services of that country. Messaging around the women, peace and security agenda should be integrated into training packages at conception to be effective.

Conclusions: We propose a planning tool to aid in designing first aid training that considers the necessary components to support meaningful education and effective engagement in support of UK's strategic goals. We welcome the use of and feedback on this tool and its impact to those planning first aid training activities as part of DE operations.

The 2014 West Africa Ebola virus disease outbreak prompted the deployment to Sierra Leone of non-governmental organisations and the UK Joint Inter-Agency Taskforce including personnel from the UK Defence Medical Services (DMS). Some of these military personnel partnered with the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) as an example of Defence Healthcare Engagement (DHE).UK DMS mentors assisted RSLAF to plan and upscale Ebola treatment units. Use of military analysis and planning tools facilitated robust and flexible plans to be produced while under significant time and resource constraints. Macrosimulation exercises enabled large numbers to be trained and standard operating procedures to be developed.Fundamental to success was a mutual respect between the DHE partners while maintaining host nation primacy throughout. DHE in this example offered advantages over non-governmental organisations. Transferable lessons for future DHE from the RSLAF-UK DMS partnership are described in this paper.

This paper considers the potential ethical tensions in the conduct of Defence Engagement (Health) (DE(H)) activities. Multiple academic papers have described the ethical dimensions of topics such as 'medical rules of eligibility', cultural differences in clinical behaviour when providing mentoring support to military health professions, MEDCAPS (non-emergency primary care clinics by international military medical personnel direct to the indigenous civilian population) and military medical collaboration with the civilian public health system and humanitarian organisations. After a short summary of principles and perspectives in military healthcare ethics (MHE), this paper considers the ethical risks of DE(H) activities at the strategic, operational and tactical level. The paper closes by discussing how to prepare military healthcare personnel for ethical challenges during DE(H) tasks. This includes considering the wider legal, professional, societal and public health perspectives alongside clinical perspectives in the analysis of an MHE issue. In conclusion, potential MHE issues during DE(H) activities are predictable and personnel should be trained to identify and address them. This paper forms part of a special issue of BMJ Military Health dedicated to Defence Healthcare Engagement.

The role of nutrition and performance is well established. Service members' physical and cognitive performance, sleep and mood are impacted by nutritional choices. Although many eating patterns have emerged, consensus among experts recommend a dietary pattern focused on predominantly whole plant-based foods. Adequate intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds should be prioritised. Implementation of strategic and intentional fuelling strategies around times of activity maintain adequate energy stores, enhance recovery and protect against training injuries. Carbohydrates are prioritised before, during and after activity or a mission, although the type and amount will vary based on duration and intensity of activity. Protein is generally the focus after activity or a mission and may be included before activity depending on individual tolerance. There are no specific recommendations for fat consumption before, during and after exercise that will improve performance. That said, Service members generally tolerate low-fat meals/snacks prior to exercise, limit fat intake during exercise, may include fat as part of the post exercise meal/snack, and generally consume most fat during the maintenance and growth phase. Careful consideration and planning for food and fluid requirements should be made when Service members are exposed to heat, cold and/or altitude. Operational rations are formulated to meet the nutritional needs of all Service members across a variety of diverse climates, environments and altitudes. Service members may use dietary supplements to improve their performance and need to be aware of available resources to help them make informed decisions.

Militaries have an important and inevitable role in global health and will interface with existing health systems on deployments. While the primary concern of militaries is not global health, there are clear, and increasingly frequent, circumstances when global health activities align with the interests of defence. Recognising this link between global health and security warrants thoughtful consideration and action where concerns affecting both intersect. In addition to providing medical support to military personnel on operations, advantageous effects can be achieved directly from military medical activities as part of Defence Engagement. While there are limitations and ethical boundaries to the role of militaries in global health, further training, research and conceptual development are warranted to optimise military medical activity at the intersection of security and global health to deliver advantageous effects. This paper forms part of a special issue of BMJ Military Health dedicated to Defence Engagement.

The future operational demand for medical support in Western militaries will likely outstrip available resources, necessitating burden-sharing through medical interoperability with allies and partners. However, the current North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) model of interoperability through standardisation, while achieving high levels of commonality and integration along the operational patient care pathway (OPCP), is high-cost and resource-intensive. We have termed this model assured interoperability. Assured interoperability, while applicable to well-established partnerships with high-resource nations, is unlikely to be feasible when working with resource-limited partners or, potentially, when in a sustained conflict with a near-peer adversary. In these circumstances, there will be a requirement to develop a far less resource-intensive model of medical interoperability with lower levels of commonality, assurance and standardisation than assured interoperability, but that provides a 'good enough' OPCP for the operational context. We have termed this pragmatic interoperability. By considering these two types of interoperability, the complete continuum of medical interoperability can be mapped with the full spectrum of partners demonstrating increasing levels of interoperability from pragmatic through to assured interoperability, integrateability and interchangeability, reducing the gap between demand and provision of medical support for operations, increasing operational resilience. This is a paper commissioned as a part of the Defence Engagement special issue of BMJ Military Health.

This paper describes the Defence Engagement (Health) (DE(H)) component of the medical mission within the UK deployment to South Sudan under Op TRENTON, the UK troop contribution to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The DE(H) activities provided advice and mentoring to the Vietnamese military medical services to support the predeployment preparation and training of their medical contingent that would undertake a relief in place of the UK personnel providing a Level 2 hospital in Bentiu, South Sudan. The paper describes these UK DE(H) activities at the strategic, operational and tactical levels to show the integration across these levels from January 2017 until the handover of command in South Sudan on 26 October 2018. The UK worked alongside personnel from the US and Australian military medical services to deliver a Field Training Exercise and other capability-building events for personnel from the Vietnamese 175 Military Hospital. The paper shows how a DE(H) programme can have strategic effects by bringing another nation into a United Nations mission, increasing UK diplomatic activity with a partner country, and by ensuring continuity of medical cover to a key UNMISS location after the withdrawal of the UK medical contingent. This paper forms part of a special issue of BMJ Military Health dedicated to DE(H).

Defence Engagement (DE) (Health) themes are reviewed in this paper through two historical perspectives set in very different contexts. The first-person narrative in Guerrilla Surgeon by Lindsay Rogers outlines the experience of a medical officer building capacity with Tito's Partisans behind enemy lines in Second World War Yugoslavia. This is contrasted with a more academic evaluation of strategic and medical benefits of DE (Health) delivered by the US military during the Vietnam War in Robert Wilensky's Military Medicine to Win Hearts and Minds: Aid to Civilians in the Vietnam War Both texts infer that clear objectives, supported by effective strategic communication, are required for the impact of DE (Health) to be fully realised. Wilensky, in particular, noted that the US military medical effort in Vietnam had no measurable impact on health or political goals in the conflict. Rogers' experience on a more individual level speaks to the promise of DE (Health) delivery contrasted against the lack of regional objectives and cites the loss of British influence when Soviet propaganda was more cohesive and coordinated, resulting in the shift in Partisan loyalty despite British efforts in supplying the bulk of military and medical material. While neither author offers a definitive guide on DE (Health), they offer clear examples of themes that should be considered and demonstrate the importance of evaluating activity and maintaining the historical record to provide an evidence base for future work. This is an article commissioned for the Defence Engagement special issue of BMJ Military Health.

The One Health concept continues to gain traction as a necessary approach to tackle emerging threats to human, animal and environmental health but has not yet been adopted within Defence Engagement (Health). The health of humans, animals and ecosystems are closely interlinked. The One Health concept recognises this interdependence and seeks to balance and optimise the health of all three through an integrated and unifying approach. With a focus on zoonoses, vectorborne disease, antimicrobial resistance and food safety it encourages collaboration, communication, coordination and capacity building. The UK has made commitments to the One Health approach in the Global Health and Security Agenda, and the Integrated Review. This article explores how the One Health approach could and should be adopted within Defence Engagement (Health) activity to offer the potential for high-impact, low-risk activity while facilitating long-term relationship building.

Introduction: Annual British Army medical training exercises have run in Kenya since the early 1990s, initially with a dual purpose-to deliver the Kenyan Extended Programme of Immunisation (in remote locations) and to undertake austere training. This provided a specific response to a capability gap request from the partner nation, but as this gap closed, the exercise changed in various ways. This study aimed to qualitatively explore the impact of these exercises on the Kenyan healthcare system and the influence and relationships between the nations.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted for 10 former senior commanders and medical officers who had deployed in key command and clinical positions from 1993 to 2019. Three researchers conducted thematic content analysis on the key-informant interviews.

Results: Five domains with 18 subdomains formed the study's analysis framework. 16 recurring themes were identified and placed into four categories that denote if they were of benefit to the engagement, enabled success, had the potential to cause harm or were a barrier to successful engagement. Three distinct phases of the exercise were identified: supporting Kenyan vaccinations, direct clinical care, training and education.

Conclusions: This is the first qualitative analysis of the impact of a British Defence Engagement (Health) on the partner nation and UK influence gained through it. It has identified factors which may improve outcomes, namely, ensuring sustainability and continuity between iterations; maintaining enduring stakeholder relationships; responding to a capability gap request; intelligence-led planning with incorporated assessment, monitoring and evaluation; adapting to changes in needs or contextual settings; while ensuring mutual benefit in objective setting. These may be used as the basis for a conceptual framework supporting the planning and execution of high-quality, mutually beneficial Defence Engagement (Health) activities in future. This framework and future research would also benefit from gaining perspectives from the partner nation.