Improving Health Care for Veterans With Gulf War Illness
Physicians need to recognize and manage Gulf War illness and similar postdeployment, chronic, multisymptom diseases among veterans of recent military operations.
Susan Lava-Parmele is a Staff Physician, Rebecca Rudquist is a Research Study Coordinator, Janeen Trembley, Tammy Butterick, and Ronald Bach are Research Health Scientists, all at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System in Minnesota. Nicole Baldwin is a Medical Student; Janeen Trembley is an Adjunct Assistant Professor; Tammy Butterick is an Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Food Science and Nutrition and a Graduate Faculty Member in the College of Food, Agriculture and Nutrition; and Ronald Bach is an Associate Professor, all at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Correspondence: Ronald R. Bach (ronald.bach@va.gov)
Author disclosures The authors report no actual or potential conflicts of interest with regard to this article.
Disclaimer The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Federal Practitioner, Frontline Medical Communications Inc., the US Government, or any of its agencies.
Measures of improvement in the veteran health care experience could include veterans’ perceptions of the supportiveness and knowledge of physicians about GWI as well as overall satisfaction. A follow-up survey on these measures of veterans involved in a GWI clinic and those not involved would be a way to determine whether these clinics better meet veterans’ needs and what additional QI is needed.
Conclusion
A significant number of Gulf War veterans experience chronic postdeployment symptoms that need to be better addressed. Physicians need to be equipped to recognize and manage GWI and similar postdeployment CMI among veterans of OEF/OIF/OND. We recommend creating an educational initiative about GWI among VA physicians and trainees, connecting physicians who see veterans with GWI, and establishing an interdisciplinary clinic with a referral system as the next steps to improve care for veterans. An additional goal would be to reach out to veteran networks to update them on GWI research, education, and available health care, as veterans are the essential stakeholders in the QI process.
