The Utility of Proximity-Based Herbicide Exposure Assessment in Epidemiologic Studies of Vietnam Veterans (2008) / Chapter Skim
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4 Data for Epidemiologic Studies of Vietnam Veterans
4 Data for Epidemiologic Studies of Vietnam Veterans
Pages 65-83
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From page 65... ...
Examining the availability, quality, and usefulness of existing information on Vietnam veterans permits consideration of some important factors that should be taken into account in planning for studies. AVAILABLE TROOP LOCATION DATA As described in previous chapters, the exposure assessment model makes use of a GIS consisting of two primary components: (1)
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From page 66... ...
Daily records for combat battalions may contain indications of multiple locations that reflect field positions of several companies and occasionally even platoons. The Stellman team has carried out preliminary cleaning and analysis of location data for more than 200 mobile Army combat units that were part of 55 battalions assigned to Military Region III of South Vietnam (also referred to as III Corps)
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From page 67... ...
. The Stellman team plans to further clean and confirm location data for these units as part of a 3-year project that began in 2007 (see below; Stellman, 2007a)
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From page 68... ...
8) conclusion was that "DoD's contention that ground troops did not enter sprayed areas until 4 to 6 weeks afterward is inaccurate; the chances that ground troops were exposed to herbicide orange are higher than DoD previously acknowledged." OBTAINING ADDITIONAL TROOP LOCATION DATA FROM MILITARY RECORDS Even with the work already done and planned by the Stellman team, researchers using the exposure assessment model will inevitably need to abstract additional information from military records.
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From page 69... ...
2. The personnel strength accounting records of military units, generally at the lowest level of the organizational hierarchy.
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From page 70... ...
In the short term, based on the best information available from DoD and the military service departments, it would appear that investigators who seek access to personal data from records that document the service of Vietnam-era veterans would be best advised to • contract directly with DoD or VA, • contract with an organization that has been specifically designated by each of the service departments as a routine user of military personnel records, or • enter into a collaboration with an investigator affiliated with any of these organizations. However, the committee sees benefit in providing access to military records that remain in the legal custody of the services to support independent research, including work by investigators who are not under contract to DoD or VA, contingent on establishing and maintaining safeguards for privacy and for appropriate research use of the records.
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From page 71... ...
Also stored at NPRC are Air Force morning reports through June TABLE 4-1 Types and Sources of Information for Developing Location Histories for Military Units or Personnel Information Type Source Location Individuals serving in Personnel strength accounting NARA, College Park, Maryland a unit records of military units NPRC, St. Louis, Missouri Individual's history of Official Military Personnel NPRC unit assignments Files Locations of units Programmatic and operational NARA during deployment records of military field in Vietnam organizations NOTE: NARA, National Archives and Records Administration; NPRC, National Personnel Records Center.
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From page 72... ...
Official Military Personnel Files When the identities of individual study subjects are known, researchers will need to access OMPFs to determine each individual's dates of entry into and exit from units during Vietnam service. Veterans' military personnel records are stored at NPRC in St.
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From page 73... ...
Programmatic and Operational Records of Military Field Organizations Although the Stellman team has assembled at least partial location histories for many military units, researchers may find it necessary to collect additional unit location information. As noted, information on Army units can typically be found in military records stored by NARA in College Park, Maryland, and information on other units has to be obtained through the individual service branches.
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From page 74... ...
74 PROXIMITY-BASED HERBICIDE EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT FIGURE 4-1 A Daily Journal excerpt. The excerpt illustrates a record of the a ctivities of A, C, and D companies of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Third Brigade, First Air Cavalry Division, over a 4-hour period on February 4, 1968.
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From page 75... ...
However, as the committee gained an understanding of the procedures necessary to gather location data for military units and the inherent challenges of those procedures, it had increasing concerns regarding the ability of typical academic researchers to carry out this work without the benefit of expertise in military records. The committee agrees with the guidance given by the Stellman team that "it is essential that those with specific experience and knowledge of military records and military terminology be involved in the research" (Stellman et al., 2003)
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From page 76... ...
SOURCES OF HEALTH OUTCOME INFORMATION To carry out a study examining potential associations between exposure to herbicides and health problems in Vietnam veterans, researchers will need information on individuals' health outcomes as well as troop locations. This section discusses sources of health information for Vietnam veterans and related access issues.
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From page 77... ...
Access to the NDI, SSA DMF, and Medicare Vital Status file is readily available to researchers, while access to VA's BIRLS database is more limited. Morbidity Data Obtaining information for studying morbidity of Vietnam veterans is more problematic than obtaining information about mortality.
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From page 78... ...
The Agent Orange Registry includes records for nearly 409,000 veterans who have identified themselves as having concerns about medical problems related to exposure to Agent Orange and who have undergone physical examinations (Kang, 2007a)
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From page 79... ...
Medicare Claims Data As more Vietnam veterans reach the age of 65 and become eligible for Medicare health insurance, Medicare data may prove increasingly useful as a source of information on health status for this population. A 2001 survey of veterans found that 96 percent of those who were age 65 or older were enrolled in Medicare (VA, 2001)
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. CONCLUSIONS From its review of the sources of data on troop locations and health outcomes that will be needed in order to apply the herbicide exposure
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From page 81... ...
3. With appropriate identifying information, mortality data for Vietnam veterans are readily and reliably available through the National Death Index and the Social Security Administration's Death Master File, while access to VA's Beneficiary Identification and Record Locator Subsystem is more limited.
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From page 82... ...
Unpublished document submitted to the IOM Committee on Making the Best Use of the Agent Orange Reconstruction Model, July 11.
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Unpublished document submitted to the IOM Committee on Making the Best Use of the Agent Orange Reconstruction Model, September 14. Stellman, J
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