AMSARA: Accession Medical Standards Analysis & Research Activity Annual Report.
Abstract
The Accession Medical Standards Analysis and Research Activity (AMSARA) is a major new epidemilogic entity in its second year. Historically, military medical accession policy and waiver deliberations were based heavily on expert opinion. AMSARA produces analyses of epidemiologic data necessary for the joint personnel and medical general officers on the Department of Defense (DoD) Accessions Medical Standards Steering Committee to make evidence-based accession policy decisions. Studies of data quality, current accession and discharge policies, and primary research are being conducted. The report contains descriptive statistics on data used and comprehensive epidemiologic studies. It was found that attrition is not unusually high among those waived for asthma. It is unlikely to be cost-effective to change the current mass screening or waiver process for military recruit applicants with a prior knee ligament or meniscus injury. Those waived for a history of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder had similar overall discharge rates when compared with matched controls who did not have such a history. Also included is a quality assurance study of medical examinations with regard to flat feet and an examination of hospitalizations occurring during the first year of service. Adding an epidemiologic perspective to medical accession policy development allows the DoD to address unacceptable high rates of premature attrition, lost duty time, avoidable medical care costs, sick leave, disability, and various wasteful, inefficient practices.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA361757
Entities
People
- J. Onaitis
- K. L. Clark
- M. R. Krauss
- P. W. Kelley
- Yang Li
Organizations
- Walter Reed Army Institute of Research