age-matched population controls.
7,8
Thus, research strategies must
focus on both the immediate and long-term impacts of wellness
and quality of life to mitigate these increased risks.
The Center for Rehabilitation Sciences Research (CRSR) was
developed in 2011 to facilitate innovative research projects that
promote service member recovery and rehabilitation (Fig. 1).
CRSR provides ef
ficient dissemination of research knowledge
gained from supported projects to military treatment facilities
(MTFs) and the Department of Defense (DoD) Centers of Excel-
lence (CoE). Headquartered at the Uniformed Services University
(USU), CRSR has succeeded in developing a well-coordinated
interdisciplinary team, primarily forged through partnerships
between Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
(WRNMMC), Brooke Army Medical Center, the Center for the
Intrepid (CFI), Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, and Naval
Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) (Fig. 2). These sites have
been the principal MTFs caring for the majority of injured service
members returning from combat operations overseas. In addition,
CRSR is well positioned, together with the Extremity Trauma and
Amputee Center of Excellence (EACE) and other DoD CoEs, to
fill the critical gaps in military relevant rehabilitative research
identi
fied by the Defense Health Agency and the U.S. Army Med-
ical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC). As new
discoveries are made, CRSR has the ability to in
fluence the educa-
tion and training of future health care providers and offer guid-
ance for rehabilitating injured service members and their families.
CRSR is directed by U.S. Army Colonel (Ret.) Paul Pasquina,
who served as the Chief of the Integrated Department of Orthopae-
dics and Rehabilitation at both Walter Reed Army Medical Center
and the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, before and
during their merger to become WRNMMC. Dr. Pasquina is cur-
rently serving as the Chief of Rehabilitation for WRNMMC and
the inaugural Chairman of the Department of Physical Medicine &
Rehabilitation at USU, which serves as the medical academic
institution of the MHS. This new USU department promotes the
academic growth of all rehabilitation professionals within the
MHS and ensures that the knowledge gained through CRSR and
other rehabilitative research centers directly in
fluences resilience
and recovery planning.
Although a thorough description and detailed report about
CRSR-sponsored projects and its investigators is beyond the
scope of this overview, a summary of noteworthy scienti
fic con-
tributions has been included from each of the four research focus
areas. This article will highlight CRSR clinical research efforts
and how this organization engages a broad group of interdisci-
plinary investigators and connects them directly with clinicians,
patients, and families to help solve clinically relevant problems.
RESEARCH FOCUS AREA 1: IDENTIFYING
BARRIERS TO SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION
This research area, led by Dr. Seth Messinger, focuses on the use of
ethnographic interviewing to identify the current barriers to social
reintegration for war
fighters with neurological and orthopedic-
related trauma. One of the paradoxical challenges facing military
clinicians who work in outpatient rehabilitation programs is assess-
ing the quality and effectiveness of intervention strategies. Recent
research conducted in the U.S. Armed Forces Amputee Care Pro-
gram has explored the ways in which the duration of rehabilitation,
sense of patient and family autonomy, and locus of control in
fluence
the rehabilitative trajectory of severely injured service members.
One study compared two patients with similar upper extremity
amputations, ages, branch of service, and regional origins. Although
both patients excelled at achieving functional goals in rehabilita-
tion, only one had enduring success with his prosthesis;
9
the other
abandoned his device. The differing outcomes were attributed to
the sense of autonomy/control experienced by the more success-
ful patient in contrast to the less successful one. A follow-on
study investigated lengths of stay and expectation concurrences
between patients and clinicians and the in
fluence on outcomes.
10
Dr. Messinger identi
fied a critical point beyond which protracted
outpatient care may be disruptive as patient concerns shift to other
issues and no longer align with those of the therapists. Although
these studies are limited in sample size, the depth of ethnographic
and qualitative interviewing allows clinical researchers to explore
factors that would not otherwise be apparent to the clinical staff.
9
Limited evidence also is available to understand how the brain
is cognitively and psychologically altered after experiencing
severe trauma, particularly for those who have sustained both
FIGURE 1.
The CRSR logo highlights the organization
’s focus on ortho-
pedic, neurologic, and cognitive injuries in service members.
FIGURE 2.
A schematic demonstrating the primary research focus areas
of CRSR and the primary sites where research is conducted. The center is
headquartered at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
MILITARY MEDICINE, Vol. 181, November/December Supplement 2016
21
Advancing the Rehabilitative Care for Service Members With Complex Trauma