I Serve 2: Improving Health Outcomes of Military-Connected Children Through Development of Policy

In the United States (US), of the 1.3 million service members currently serving in the armed forces, approximately 55% are married and 43% have at least one child. Since the onset of the military action in Iraq (2001) and Afghanistan (2003) more than two million military-connected children have had at least one parent deploy. The majority of military children are in early and middle childhood—78% of the children of Active Duty parents are under the age of 11 years and 80% of reserve component children are under 15 years of age. Globally, military-connected children are subjected to unique stressors not experienced by their civilian counterparts yet their physical and psychological healthcare needs have gone unrecognized outside of military health care settings.

With the increased operations tempo, the risk for abuse and neglect among military children has increased. Historically, the healthcare needs of military children have been unrecognized outside of military healthcare settings. In the US, military children are at higher risk for abuse and neglect, substance use, and suicide when compared with non-military connected children; stress and depression related to parental deployment or post deployment physical/psychological injuries; behavior and academic issues secondary to emotional distress, frequents moves or a parental deployment; and anxiety that can lead to changes in appetite, disrupted sleep patterns, and impaired immune response which can impact overall physical and psychological health. Upwards of 33% of military children have experienced maltreatment and/or abuse. Sadly, at least 19,000 children have experienced the wounding of a parent and over 2,200 have experienced the death of a parent secondary to military service in Iraq or Afghanistan, which can have long-term physical and psychological health implications for military chil­dren.

Policy initiatives aimed at identify and decreasing the long-term effects of parental deployment, minimizing the physical and psychological sequelae, and identifying educational ramifications on chil­dren is almost nonexistent globally. As a member of the inaugural cohort of American Academy of Jonas Policy Scholars working with the Military and Veteran Health Expert Panel, I focused on strengthening the military family through development of the I Serve 2 initiative in the US, and a pocketcard for civilian healthcare providers caring for military-connected children in civilian practices. This presentation will discuss the gaps in healthcare policy related to military families around the world and provide guidance as to how to reduce barriers to access, decrease knowledge deficits of healthcare providers, and/or improve consistency in healthcare delivery to this unserved population that is the most vulnerable to aftermath of war—military children.