health

Robert Jacobson, M.D., Mayo Clinic Children’s Center pediatrician and vaccine specialist, advises parents to ensure their child has recommended vaccinations and be aware of changes to those recommendations. For example, children can now be vaccinated for human papillomavirus (HPV), at age 11, rather than having to wait until they are 16 years of age. This […]

Past and present service members and family members suffering from traumatic brain injury can now take part in a Creative Forces music therapy program here, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and the Defense Department that’s designed to help them recover and rehabilitate. According to the American Music Therapy Association website, music therapy is the […]

Retired Air Force Col. Arnyce Pock spent most of her 34 years on active duty as a board-certified internist. But a traditional medical practice from another part of the world is energizing and informing her work as associate dean for curriculum at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. That practice […]

The U.S. Air Force is using battlefield acupuncture to keep airmen at work. The procedure provides an integrative modality to help treat chronic pain. The practice also helps reduce dependence on opioids which are the main drivers of drug overdose deaths in the country. The White House has said drug addiction and opioids are “ravaging […]

Even under the best circumstances, talking about sex can be difficult. Imagine, then, how service members who’ve experienced a physical or psychological injury might feel about the topic. Helping wounded warriors address sex and intimacy is the mission and – pardon the expression – the passion of Kathryn Ellis. “The cultural stigma that it’s not […]

The HPV vaccine is safe and nearly 100-percent effective, health care experts say. But only about half of the target youth population – in either the civilian sector or among Military Health System beneficiaries – have received it. “Health care providers need to help parents understand the value of the vaccine,” said Air Force Lt. […]

Army Lt. Col. Steve Zappalla was working in his cubicle at the Pentagon on the day terrorists flew a hijacked plane into the building. The force of the impact lifted him out of his seat and slammed him onto the floor. He escaped with a concussion, but 22 of his workgroup colleagues were among 125 […]

For almost two decades, the spouse of an active duty service member kept a secret from loved ones. No one knew of her guilt after she binged on a bag of cookies or snuck candy when she was alone. She was overweight, and yet remained determined to cut out sugar and treats. Her struggle with […]