Wives & Military Deployments – SPECIAL REPORT by NEJM

An interesting story published on Thursday January 14th, 2010 in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled “Deployment and the Use of Mental Health Services among U.S. Army Wives” discovered that the wives of soldiers deployed suffered higher mental health issues.

This was the largest study ever undertaken. The results are very conclusive and indicate “that the mental health effects of current military operations are extending beyond soldiers and into their immediate families.”

The study shows again “that when a service member deploys, the entire family deploys,” said Air Force Maj. April Cunningham, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

The results of this study mirror the findings from the RAND Corp. study of military children that we reported on last month in our Operation Hug-A-Hero SPECIAL REPORT,Children and Military Deployments that discusses Deployment Effects on Children of Military Families. The NEJM story details the fact that Children of deployed parents suffer more emotional issues, particularly if separations are long or the parent at home is troubled.

It’s a fact … kids do worse when Mom does worse. “So if spouses are more likely to need mental health services as deployment times increase, than their kids are more at risk.”

The NEJM story is pretty technical, so if you want an easier read, I would suggest the USA Today summary that you can read by clicking here: Army wives with deployed husbands suffer higher mental health issues.

The NEJM report along with the RAND report signify that  children of military parents are adversely impacted emotionally with a parent who is deployed away from home for significant amount of time. This is the main reason that Operation Hug-A-Hero was created. We can and have made huge positive psychological impacts to the children that are recipients of our FREE Hug-A-Hero® dolls.

Download a copy of this Report

TampaBayOnline Features OHAH

Operation Hug-A-Hero’s Executive Director Lisa Berg and her family were featured on Tampa Tribunes’s – TBO.com (Tampa Bay  Online) .  The Story by Geoff Foxx of the Tampa Tribune is an inspirational story that details the history of Daddy Dolls as well as how the Dolls have helped Lisa’s children. Also of great importance is the note regarding the recent troop surge announced by President Obama and how many children of military family’s can be helped by a Donation, so that Operation Hug-A-Hero can supply more Dolls to children whose parents are about to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

With President Obama’s recent announcement that 30,000 troops soon will be sent to Afghanistan, OPERATION Hug-A-Hero is accepting donations so that more Daddy Dolls will find their way to the arms of children who miss their parent. A donation of $25 can get a doll to a child.

Click here to read the entire TBO story entitled Hug-A-Hero dolls provide comfort to children of deployed military.

Related Posts:

December 2, 2009 Press Release – OHAH offers public opportunity to support ‘littlest heroes’

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