Getting Veterans back into the labor force.
In spite of the general appreciation for the nation’s veterans, new statistics from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest that the general public gratitude doesn’t extend to giving veterans a job. In the Bureau’s most recent report, the unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans is higher than that for non-veterans, an ongoing trend that dates back to 2005. Observers can blame a poor labor market and the fact that skills developed during deployment are not directly transferable to civilian work, however, the situation is also complicated by the fact that an estimated 20% of today’s veterans have mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) – a condition that does not render them unable to work, but makes it tougher to secure long-term employment. An ongoing study at the Veterans Affairs (VA) San Diego Healthcare System, supported by Veterans Medical Research Foundation, is taking aim at the problem, and getting veterans back into the labor force. According to Dr. Elizabeth Twamley, the study’s principal investigator, veterans with mild/moderate TBI may have a host of post-concussive symptoms including sleep disturbance, fatigue, headaches or memory/concentration issues that complicate employment, even if they don’t show signs of injury in a CT scan or MRI. “We are just starting to understand the physics of blast injuries,” explains Dr. Twamley. “These veterans have been exposed to repeated blasts from improvised explosive devices over multiple deployments. They create pressure waves within the brain, resulting in shearing in the blood vessels and neuronal damage. It’s analogous to sports: we now know that many little hits can have a cumulative effect that is equally, if not more devastating, than a big one. It may be same with blasts.” To help these veterans the study is evaluating an intervention called CogSMART, (Cognitive Symptom Management and Rehabilitation Therapy), which teaches participants strategies for bypassing these cognitive impairments, and also provides supported employment to place veterans in their desired field of employment. Dr. Twamley says that the study is still accepting new participants, and that recruitment has been hampered by both the subtle nature of TBI in its mild/moderate form, as well as the tendency to write off persistent unemployment as a sign of the poor economic times. The study is also open to veterans who are using the GI Bill to complete their education, so that they might gain real-world work experience to help them land a job after graduation. “For veterans with TBI and other disabilities, there is probably an even bigger discrepancy between veteran and non-veteran unemployment than indicated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” says Dr. Twamley. “We hope to help close that gap. These veterans are ready, willing and able to work. They deserve the chance.” For more information about the study, call Dr. Twamley or Amber Gregory at 619-228-8080. The Veterans Medical Research Foundation is a private, independent research organization that supports the world-class biomedical research conducted by the physician scientists who are dually appointed by the VA San Diego Healthcare
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