Beth Ann Griffin

To what degree is the suicide trend in the U.S. Army unique to that service, relative to what is observed in the general U.S. population? Researchers investigate how accounting for additional population risk factors beyond age and gender (race/ethnicity, time, marital status, and educational attainment) affects suicide rate differences between soldiers and a comparable subset of the general U.S. population.

Given the unprecedented demands on the U.S. military since 2001 and the risks posed by stress and trauma, there has been growing concern about the prevalence and consequences of sleep problems. This first-ever comprehensive review of military sleep-related policies and programs, evidence-based interventions, and barriers to achieving healthy sleep offers a detailed set of actionable recommendations for improving sleep across the force.

Delivery of high-quality behavioral health (BH) care is essential to the readiness of the U.S. armed forces and their families. Virtual behavioral health (VBH) care expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic and could support BH care delivery in the future. The authors examined trends in the use of VBH care for U.S. Army soldiers and their spouses from prior to the pandemic through March 2022 and surveyed soldiers about their perceptions of VBH care.

The authors use simulations to assess the performance of a wide range of statistical models commonly used in the gun policy literature to estimate the effects of state-level gun policies on firearm deaths and to identify the most-appropriate statistical methods for producing estimates. The results suggest substantial statistical problems with many of the methods used in this field. The authors identify the best method among those assessed.