Drew A Helmer
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 114782 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Drew A Helmer |
| NOMBRES | Drew A |
| APELLIDO | Helmer |
| FIRMA | HELMER D A |
| AFILIACIONES | Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0385-432X |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 21 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 19 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 21 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2002 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 2 |
Burn Pit Smoke Exposure and Sleep Apnea in US Veterans
INTRODUCTION: Burn pit smoke exposure (BPSE) during military deployment has been linked to long-term cardiorespiratory conditions, but its relationship with sleep apnea (SA) remains unclear. This study examines the association between BPSE and SA using Veterans Health Administration (VHA) electronic medical records (EMR) and the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry (AHOBPR). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of veterans fr…
Concordance Between Self-Report and Electronic Medical Record Diagnoses of Insomnia and Sleep Apnea
BACKGROUND: Veteran participants in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry (AHOBPR) report respiratory and sleep-related symptoms, including sleep-disordered breathing and difficulty sleeping. The AHOBPR Questionnaire elicits sleep-related disturbances and other health outcomes potentially associated with burn pit exposures. Responses to this questionnaire may influence resource allocation and future longitudinal studies of toxic sequela…
Health Care Journeys of Veterans With Gulf War Illness
BACKGROUND: There is an acknowledged need to improve care for patients with persistent physical symptoms. Veterans who served in the 1990-91 Gulf War are a subpopulation of U.S. military Veterans who have been struggling with persistent physical symptoms for decades. The current study sought to characterize Veterans' historic path through the health care system and current experience of care to identify opportunities to improve care. METHODS: Ana…
She thought the same way I that I thought
Objective: Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS), such as chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and Gulf War Illness (GWI), are difficult to treat. Concordance—shared understanding between patient and provider about illness causes, course, and treatment—is an essential component of high-quality care for people with MUS. This qualitative paper focuses on the experiences of United States military Veterans living with GWI who have endur…
US military veterans’ perceived concordance with their providers regarding persistent physical symptoms prospectively predicts satisfaction with care and adherence to care plans
BACKGROUND: Medically unexplained, persistent physical symptoms and syndromes are commonly seen in primary care. These are debilitating for patients and difficult to treat, causing frustration for patients and providers. PURPOSE: This study investigates how well US military veterans with multiple persistent physical symptoms (PPS), called Gulf War illness (GWI), agree with their healthcare providers about their illness. This agreement, called per…
The Million Veteran Program 1990–1991 Gulf War Era Survey
To address gaps in understanding the pathophysiology of Gulf War Illness (GWI), the VA Million Veteran Program (MVP) developed and implemented a survey to MVP enrollees who served in the U.S. military during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War (GW). Eligible Veterans were invited via mail to complete a survey assessing health conditions as well as GW-specific deployment characteristics and exposures. We evaluated the representativeness of this GW-era …
Differences in Covid-19-Related Testing and Healthcare Utilization by Race and Ethnicity in the Veterans Health Administration
Association of Gulf War Illness with Characteristics in Deployed vs. Non-Deployed Gulf War Era Veterans in the Cooperative Studies Program 2006/Million Veteran Program 029 Cohort
Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic multisymptom illness with a complex and uncertain etiology and pathophysiology, is highly prevalent among veterans deployed to the 1990-1991 GW. We examined how GWI phenotypes varied by demographic and military characteristics among GW-era veterans. Data were from the VA's Cooperative Studies Program 2006/Million Veteran Program (MVP) 029 cohort, Genomics of GWI. From June 2018 to March 2019, 109,976 MVP enrollee…
Health-Related Quality of Life by Gulf War Illness Case Status
This study examines how health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and related indices vary by Gulf War illness (GWI) case status. The study population included veterans from the Gulf War Era Cohort and Biorepository (n = 1116). Outcomes were physical and mental health from the Veterans RAND 12 and depression, post-traumatic stress (PTSD), sleep disturbance, and pain. Kansas (KS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) GWI definitions we…
Shannon’s ETS (Expiration of Term of Service) Experience
Shannon, an Army Veteran, shares her experience with ETS and the subsequent challenges she faced during her transition to civilian life. The clarity with which Shannon shared her experiences helped a health services research fellow develop empathy for Veterans like Shannon. We wish to share Shannon’s experience with others who conduct research with Veterans to help them also develop empathy for transition stressors that may be a root cause for ma…
Because the country, it seems though, has turned their back on me
Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of Dietary Supplementation with Concord Grape Juice in Gulf War Veterans with Gulf War Illness
Approximately 30 percent of U.S. veterans deployed during the Gulf War (1990-1991) have been diagnosed with Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic multi-symptom disorder without widely available specific treatments. We investigated whether the consumption of Concord grape juice (CGJ), rich in anti-inflammatory flavonoids, would be tolerated and safe in individuals with GWI and explored improvement in cognitive function and fatigue. Thirty-six veterans…
Variations in VA and Medicare Use Among Veterans With Diabetes
INTRODUCTION: VA and Medicare use among older Veterans has been considered fragmented care, however, it may represent access to needed care. METHODS: The population studied were Veterans with diabetes, age 66 years and older, dually enrolled in VA and Medicare. DATA SOURCE/STUDY SETTING: We conducted a dynamic retrospective cohort study with 2008, 2009, and 2010 as the outcome years (Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions Hospitalization (ACSC-H) o…
The Methodological Challenges of Using Veterans Benefits Administration Disability Codes to Ascertain Agent Orange Exposure Among Vietnam Theater Veterans With Service-connected Disabilities
Rated as one of the top ten journals in healthcare administration, Medical Care is devoted to all aspects of the administration and delivery of healthcare. This scholarly journal publishes original, peer-reviewed papers documenting the most current developments in the rapidly changing field of healthcare. This timely journal reports on the findings of original investigations into issues related to the research, planning, organization, financing, …
Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms
Medically unexplained symptoms and syndromes (MUS) affect the health of 20%-30% of patients seen in primary care. Optimally, treatment for these patients requires an interdisciplinary team consisting of both primary care and mental health providers. By developing an expertise in MUS, counseling psychologists can improve the care of patients with MUS who are already in their practice, expand the number of patients they help, and enhance the integr…
Introducing an Observational Rating System for Studying Concordance in Patient–Physician Relationships
We developed the System for Observing Medical Alliances (SOMA) to study relationships between medical providers and patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). Based on literature in health psychology, medicine, and the psychotherapeutic alliance, the SOMA operationalizes three medical alliance dimensions: Engagement in the Consultation Process, Trust in the Provider, and Concordance of Illness Beliefs and Treatment Recommendations. Speci…
State-Level Variability in Veteran Reliance on Veterans Health Administration and Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations
Most Veterans who use the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) also utilize private-sector health care providers. To better inform local and regional health care planning, we assessed the association between reliance on VHA ambulatory care and total and system-specific preventable hospitalization rates (PHRs) at the state level. We conducted a retrospective dynamic cohort study using Veterans with diabetes mellitus, aged 66 years or older, and du…
Chronic Multisymptom Illness Among Female Veterans Deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan
BACKGROUND: Chronic multisymptom illness (CMI) may be more prevalent among female Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) deployed Veterans due to deployment-related experiences. OBJECTIVES: To investigate CMI-related diagnoses among female OEF/OIF/OND Veterans. RESEARCH DESIGN: We estimated the prevalence of the International Classification of Disease-9th edition-Clinical Modification coded CMI-related…
Can Ambulatory Care Prevent Hospitalization for Metabolic Decompensation
OBJECTIVE: Metabolic decompensations (MD) are hospitalizations considered preventable with appropriate ambulatory care. We tested for associations between diabetes care and MD. RESEARCH DESIGN: We retrospectively compared care between cases (MD; n = 2714) and controls (without MD; n = 10,856) using merged Veterans Health Administration and Medicare data. Logistic regression tested for associations between MD and diabetes care controlling for pati…
Health Services Use Among Gulf War Veterans and Gulf War–Era Nondeployed Veterans
We sought to analyze the self-reported hospitalization, emergency department visits, and outpatient visits of Persian Gulf War (deployed; n=1896) and Persian Gulf War–era (nondeployed; n=1799) military personnel 5 years postconflict to determine whether these groups had different rates of health care use. Compared with personnel who had not been deployed, personnel who had been deployed were more likely to have visited an emergency department (25…
Birth Order and its Association with the Onset of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a medically unexplained illness that is diagnosed on the basis of a clinical case definition; so it probably is an illness with multiple causes producing the same clinical picture. One way of dealing with this heterogeneity is to stratify patients based on illness onset. We hypothesized that either the whole group of CFS patients or that group which developed CFS gradually would show a relation with birth order, …
Because the country, it seems though, has turned their back on me
Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms
Medically unexplained symptoms and syndromes (MUS) affect the health of 20%-30% of patients seen in primary care. Optimally, treatment for these patients requires an interdisciplinary team consisting of both primary care and mental health providers. By developing an expertise in MUS, counseling psychologists can improve the care of patients with MUS who are already in their practice, expand the number of patients they help, and enhance the integr…
US military veterans’ perceived concordance with their providers regarding persistent physical symptoms prospectively predicts satisfaction with care and adherence to care plans
BACKGROUND: Medically unexplained, persistent physical symptoms and syndromes are commonly seen in primary care. These are debilitating for patients and difficult to treat, causing frustration for patients and providers. PURPOSE: This study investigates how well US military veterans with multiple persistent physical symptoms (PPS), called Gulf War illness (GWI), agree with their healthcare providers about their illness. This agreement, called per…
Introducing an Observational Rating System for Studying Concordance in Patient–Physician Relationships
We developed the System for Observing Medical Alliances (SOMA) to study relationships between medical providers and patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). Based on literature in health psychology, medicine, and the psychotherapeutic alliance, the SOMA operationalizes three medical alliance dimensions: Engagement in the Consultation Process, Trust in the Provider, and Concordance of Illness Beliefs and Treatment Recommendations. Speci…
Birth Order and its Association with the Onset of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a medically unexplained illness that is diagnosed on the basis of a clinical case definition; so it probably is an illness with multiple causes producing the same clinical picture. One way of dealing with this heterogeneity is to stratify patients based on illness onset. We hypothesized that either the whole group of CFS patients or that group which developed CFS gradually would show a relation with birth order, …
Health Services Use Among Gulf War Veterans and Gulf War–Era Nondeployed Veterans
We sought to analyze the self-reported hospitalization, emergency department visits, and outpatient visits of Persian Gulf War (deployed; n=1896) and Persian Gulf War–era (nondeployed; n=1799) military personnel 5 years postconflict to determine whether these groups had different rates of health care use. Compared with personnel who had not been deployed, personnel who had been deployed were more likely to have visited an emergency department (25…
Can Ambulatory Care Prevent Hospitalization for Metabolic Decompensation
OBJECTIVE: Metabolic decompensations (MD) are hospitalizations considered preventable with appropriate ambulatory care. We tested for associations between diabetes care and MD. RESEARCH DESIGN: We retrospectively compared care between cases (MD; n = 2714) and controls (without MD; n = 10,856) using merged Veterans Health Administration and Medicare data. Logistic regression tested for associations between MD and diabetes care controlling for pati…
Chronic Multisymptom Illness Among Female Veterans Deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan
BACKGROUND: Chronic multisymptom illness (CMI) may be more prevalent among female Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) deployed Veterans due to deployment-related experiences. OBJECTIVES: To investigate CMI-related diagnoses among female OEF/OIF/OND Veterans. RESEARCH DESIGN: We estimated the prevalence of the International Classification of Disease-9th edition-Clinical Modification coded CMI-related…
State-Level Variability in Veteran Reliance on Veterans Health Administration and Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations
Most Veterans who use the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) also utilize private-sector health care providers. To better inform local and regional health care planning, we assessed the association between reliance on VHA ambulatory care and total and system-specific preventable hospitalization rates (PHRs) at the state level. We conducted a retrospective dynamic cohort study using Veterans with diabetes mellitus, aged 66 years or older, and du…
Variations in VA and Medicare Use Among Veterans With Diabetes
INTRODUCTION: VA and Medicare use among older Veterans has been considered fragmented care, however, it may represent access to needed care. METHODS: The population studied were Veterans with diabetes, age 66 years and older, dually enrolled in VA and Medicare. DATA SOURCE/STUDY SETTING: We conducted a dynamic retrospective cohort study with 2008, 2009, and 2010 as the outcome years (Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions Hospitalization (ACSC-H) o…
The Methodological Challenges of Using Veterans Benefits Administration Disability Codes to Ascertain Agent Orange Exposure Among Vietnam Theater Veterans With Service-connected Disabilities
Rated as one of the top ten journals in healthcare administration, Medical Care is devoted to all aspects of the administration and delivery of healthcare. This scholarly journal publishes original, peer-reviewed papers documenting the most current developments in the rapidly changing field of healthcare. This timely journal reports on the findings of original investigations into issues related to the research, planning, organization, financing, …
Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms
Medically unexplained symptoms and syndromes (MUS) affect the health of 20%-30% of patients seen in primary care. Optimally, treatment for these patients requires an interdisciplinary team consisting of both primary care and mental health providers. By developing an expertise in MUS, counseling psychologists can improve the care of patients with MUS who are already in their practice, expand the number of patients they help, and enhance the integr…
Introducing an Observational Rating System for Studying Concordance in Patient–Physician Relationships
We developed the System for Observing Medical Alliances (SOMA) to study relationships between medical providers and patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). Based on literature in health psychology, medicine, and the psychotherapeutic alliance, the SOMA operationalizes three medical alliance dimensions: Engagement in the Consultation Process, Trust in the Provider, and Concordance of Illness Beliefs and Treatment Recommendations. Speci…
Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of Dietary Supplementation with Concord Grape Juice in Gulf War Veterans with Gulf War Illness
Approximately 30 percent of U.S. veterans deployed during the Gulf War (1990-1991) have been diagnosed with Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic multi-symptom disorder without widely available specific treatments. We investigated whether the consumption of Concord grape juice (CGJ), rich in anti-inflammatory flavonoids, would be tolerated and safe in individuals with GWI and explored improvement in cognitive function and fatigue. Thirty-six veterans…
Shannon’s ETS (Expiration of Term of Service) Experience
Shannon, an Army Veteran, shares her experience with ETS and the subsequent challenges she faced during her transition to civilian life. The clarity with which Shannon shared her experiences helped a health services research fellow develop empathy for Veterans like Shannon. We wish to share Shannon’s experience with others who conduct research with Veterans to help them also develop empathy for transition stressors that may be a root cause for ma…
Because the country, it seems though, has turned their back on me
Differences in Covid-19-Related Testing and Healthcare Utilization by Race and Ethnicity in the Veterans Health Administration
Association of Gulf War Illness with Characteristics in Deployed vs. Non-Deployed Gulf War Era Veterans in the Cooperative Studies Program 2006/Million Veteran Program 029 Cohort
Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic multisymptom illness with a complex and uncertain etiology and pathophysiology, is highly prevalent among veterans deployed to the 1990-1991 GW. We examined how GWI phenotypes varied by demographic and military characteristics among GW-era veterans. Data were from the VA's Cooperative Studies Program 2006/Million Veteran Program (MVP) 029 cohort, Genomics of GWI. From June 2018 to March 2019, 109,976 MVP enrollee…
Health-Related Quality of Life by Gulf War Illness Case Status
This study examines how health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and related indices vary by Gulf War illness (GWI) case status. The study population included veterans from the Gulf War Era Cohort and Biorepository (n = 1116). Outcomes were physical and mental health from the Veterans RAND 12 and depression, post-traumatic stress (PTSD), sleep disturbance, and pain. Kansas (KS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) GWI definitions we…
The Million Veteran Program 1990–1991 Gulf War Era Survey
To address gaps in understanding the pathophysiology of Gulf War Illness (GWI), the VA Million Veteran Program (MVP) developed and implemented a survey to MVP enrollees who served in the U.S. military during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War (GW). Eligible Veterans were invited via mail to complete a survey assessing health conditions as well as GW-specific deployment characteristics and exposures. We evaluated the representativeness of this GW-era …
She thought the same way I that I thought
Objective: Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS), such as chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and Gulf War Illness (GWI), are difficult to treat. Concordance—shared understanding between patient and provider about illness causes, course, and treatment—is an essential component of high-quality care for people with MUS. This qualitative paper focuses on the experiences of United States military Veterans living with GWI who have endur…
US military veterans’ perceived concordance with their providers regarding persistent physical symptoms prospectively predicts satisfaction with care and adherence to care plans
BACKGROUND: Medically unexplained, persistent physical symptoms and syndromes are commonly seen in primary care. These are debilitating for patients and difficult to treat, causing frustration for patients and providers. PURPOSE: This study investigates how well US military veterans with multiple persistent physical symptoms (PPS), called Gulf War illness (GWI), agree with their healthcare providers about their illness. This agreement, called per…
Burn Pit Smoke Exposure and Sleep Apnea in US Veterans
INTRODUCTION: Burn pit smoke exposure (BPSE) during military deployment has been linked to long-term cardiorespiratory conditions, but its relationship with sleep apnea (SA) remains unclear. This study examines the association between BPSE and SA using Veterans Health Administration (VHA) electronic medical records (EMR) and the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry (AHOBPR). METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of veterans fr…
Concordance Between Self-Report and Electronic Medical Record Diagnoses of Insomnia and Sleep Apnea
BACKGROUND: Veteran participants in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry (AHOBPR) report respiratory and sleep-related symptoms, including sleep-disordered breathing and difficulty sleeping. The AHOBPR Questionnaire elicits sleep-related disturbances and other health outcomes potentially associated with burn pit exposures. Responses to this questionnaire may influence resource allocation and future longitudinal studies of toxic sequela…
Health Care Journeys of Veterans With Gulf War Illness
BACKGROUND: There is an acknowledged need to improve care for patients with persistent physical symptoms. Veterans who served in the 1990-91 Gulf War are a subpopulation of U.S. military Veterans who have been struggling with persistent physical symptoms for decades. The current study sought to characterize Veterans' historic path through the health care system and current experience of care to identify opportunities to improve care. METHODS: Ana…
Medicine (17 obras) · Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Research (10 obras) · Health care (9 obras) · Psychiatry (8 obras) · Psychology (8 obras) · Environmental health (7 obras) · Internal Medicine (7 obras) · Clinical Psychology (6 obras) · Population (6 obras) · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments (6 obras)