Military and Veteran Health Research

Canada’s military, veterans, and their families suffer from a number of health conditions, including mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as common musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis and lifestyle-related conditions. The risk of experiencing health problems is significantly higher than civilians. Accompanied by chronic pain.

Although this reality is now well documented, at the beginning of this century the details of military and veteran health conditions were not as well understood. Much research has been done to advance this understanding, and new research is continually being conducted to find optimal treatments for this population.

The Canadian Institute for Military and Veterans Health Research (CIMVHR), a Queen’s-based research institute co-founded by Queen’s University and the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC), has been at the forefront of this field in recent years. His CIMVHR, which he founded in 2010 with the motto “Serve those who serve us,” recently celebrated its 13th anniversary. This was an opportunity for CIMVHR to reflect on our journey so far and where we intend to go next.

“When CIMVHR was founded, there was still a lot we didn’t know about the mental and physical effects of military service,” said CIMVHR Scientific Director, who has held the role since 2017 after working for Veterans Affairs Canada. David Pedler says. . “Since CIMVHR’s inception, its work has contributed to an improved understanding of the wide range of conditions experienced by service members and veterans, from post-traumatic stress disorder to injuries sustained while transporting heavy equipment. Although we have come a long way, there is still much work to be done to adequately protect the health and well-being of those who sacrifice so much for society. Research support and knowledge mobilization infrastructure Structure allows us to remain at the forefront of the conversation about military and veteran health, both in Canada and around the world.”

Origin of CIMVHR

CIMVHR was established to foster research into the health status of service members and veterans during the Afghanistan conflict, which led to the largest deployment of Canadian troops since the Korean War. This military operation followed several others in the 1990s, including in Rwanda, Somalia, and Kosovo. With so many Canadians affected by deployment, more research capacity is needed to answer questions about how to care for the physical and mental health of service members, veterans, and their families. There is growing recognition among medical professionals and governments that this is necessary.

To support the establishment of the new institute, Queen’s collaborated with Veterans Affairs Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces, and RMC. Kingston was agreed as the ideal location as it is home to his U15 research university in Queens, a Canadian Forces base and the RMC where many future military leaders are trained.

In its first five years, CIMVHR has developed into a national network that now partners with 46 universities and approximately 1,600 researchers across Canada. They facilitate projects by connecting researchers with funding agencies. Funding agencies come to her CIMVHR with requests for proposals on specific themes. CIMVHR then finds the most suitable researchers and institutions in its network to work on the field and collects their proposals. Initially, the institute mainly collaborated with government funding agencies. Over time, we have also expanded our work with non-governmental organizations such as The Royal Canadian Legion, The War Amps, and True Patriot Love, to name a few.

spread the word

Once new knowledge is generated from these projects, it needs to be delivered to people. CIMVHR intervenes here as well. Mobilize knowledge as part of your mission; Journal of Military, Veteran and Family Health (JMVFH), a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to this field. The organization publishes five of his issues in 2019, some of which cover topics such as gender and sexual misconduct, chronic pain, family, technology, and the moral injury to individual conscience and values. They specialize in a single topic of particular interest. A new special issue explores the potential use of psychedelics to treat veterans and military personnel with mental health problems.

“We aim to provide evidence-based analysis of emerging and hot topics in the field and be at the forefront of important national discussions,” says Dr. Pedler. “We have published more than 300 peer-reviewed papers, which have been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times and read in more than 190 countries around the world. It has established itself as the preeminent academic medium for all questions related to military health.”

CIMVHR also works to distill research results into formats that are easier for non-experts to understand, such as infographics and whitepapers. These materials are frequently used to help policy makers understand the importance of specific research and make informed decisions about issues related to military and veteran health. .

Global expansion

fact JMVFH Reaching readers in more than 190 countries speaks to the global importance of CIMVHR’s work, but that is only part of its international reach. With a growing number of collaborators outside of Canada, CIMVHR is becoming increasingly important around the world.

This global reach is demonstrated each year when CIMVHR holds its Annual Forum, the world’s only annual conference dedicated to military and veteran health. Participants come from different countries to present their research and build connections with researchers and organizations.