Although in its fledgling stages, a program designed to accurately identify post deployment physical and mental health issues has already produced promising results, a senior Defense Department official said Feb. 27.

“The post deployment health reassessment is a way to show servicemembers we care about them; we are here for them. And, if there are legitimate concerns, we can find out early and treat them,” said Ellen Embrey, deputy assistant secretary of defense for force health protection and readiness, during a joint operations medical managers course in San Antonio.

The reassessment, implemented in a limited basis in January, comprises a series of questions designed to identify service members’ concerns four to six months after their return from a deployment.

“We developed the reassessment based on lessons learned from the first Gulf War,” Ms. Embrey said. “We wanted to make sure we captured servicemembers’ concerns about their health, how they’re doing physically and also find out how they feel. It’s very comprehensive.”

Before the reassessment, the primary tool for gauging a servicemember’s physical and mental health post deployment was through an assessment offered shortly after a servicemember’s return. However, an assessment given in that early of a time frame may not offer a realistic picture of the servicemember’s physical and mental health, Ms. Embrey said.

“More than 90 percent of servicemembers reported they were in great health on the post deployment assessment, which may be motivated in part by the fact that they can’t go home until they fill out the form,” Ms. Embrey said. “As the thrill of being back home wears off and reality sets in, usually about four to six months after they return, that’s when we want to reach out to them.”

With reassessment results in hand, the medical and family services community can offer financial, medical or mental health support, “any kind of service they need,” Ms. Embrey said.

The reassessment is currently targeted at servicemembers who are redeploying within four to six months of a prior deployment, which “seems to be the breaking point for these servicemembers, making it the perfect time to evaluate their physical and mental health,” she said.

With encouraging data in hand, Ms. Embrey said the program soon will be expanded to include all active duty and reserve component members DOD-wide.

“Forty-five percent of participants to date express any health concerns,” she said. “This is vastly different form 93 percent saying I’m in excellent health.”

A majority of the concerns are physical, with a smaller percentage of mental health concerns, Ms. Embrey explained, adding that the reassessments are useful in identifying problems but are not intended as a diagnostic tool.

“The important thing is we have a great opportunity to capture physical and mental health concerns at the point they emerge, and refer the servicemembers for help when necessary,” she said.