Citation

McCarthy MD, Thompson SJ, Knox KL. Am. J. Public Health 2012; 102(Suppl 1): S60-S65.

Affiliation

Michael D. McCarthy is with the Air Force Medical Support Agency, Arlington, VA. Sanna J. Thompson is with the School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin. Kerry L. Knox is with the School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2011.300580

PMID

22390604

Abstract

Objectives. Military members are required to complete the Post-Deployment Health Assessment on return from deployment and the Post-Deployment Health Reassessment (PHDRA) 90 to 180 days later, and we assessed the PDHRA's sensitivity and specificity in identifying posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression after a military deployment among US Air Force personnel. Methods. We computed the PDHRA's sensitivity and specificity for depression and PTSD and developed a structural model to suggest possible improvements to it. Results. For depression, sensitivity and specificity were 0.704 and 0.651, respectively; for PTSD, they were 0.774 and 0.650, respectively. Several variables produced significant direct effects on depression and trauma, suggesting that modifications could increase its sensitivity and specificity. Conclusions. The PDHRA was moderately effective in identifying airmen with depression and PTSD. It identified behavioral health concerns in many airmen who did not develop a diagnostic mental health condition. Its low level of specificity may result in reduced barriers to care and increased support services, key components of a public health approach to suicide prevention, for airmen experiencing subacute levels of distress after deployment, which may, in part, account for lower suicide rates among airmen after deployment.

Language: en