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Disaster Behavioral Health Research Involving Military Facilities and Populations after Mass Violence: Insights from the 2013 Washington Navy Yard Shooting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2021

Brian W Flynn ,
Mary C Vance ,
James C West Open the ORCID record for James C West [Opens in a new window] ,
Joshua C Morganstein Open the ORCID record for Joshua C Morganstein [Opens in a new window]  and
Carol S Fullerton
Brian W Flynn*
Affiliation:
Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA
Mary C Vance
Affiliation:
Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA Henry M Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA
James C West
Affiliation:
Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA
Joshua C Morganstein
Affiliation:
Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA
Carol S Fullerton
Affiliation:
Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA
*
Corresponding author: Brian W Flynn, Email: brian.flynn@usuhs.edu.
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Abstract

Research on disaster behavioral health presents significant methodological challenges. Challenges are even more complex for research on mass violence events that involve military members, families, and communities, due to the cultural and logistical considerations of working with this population. The current article aims to inform and educate on this specialized area of research, by presenting a case study on the experience of designing and conducting disaster behavioral health research after a mass violence event in a military setting: the 2013 mass shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, in Washington, D.C. Using the case example, the authors explore methodological challenges and lessons learned from conducting research in this context, and provide guidance for future researchers.

Keywords

militarymass violencebehavioral healthresearchdisaster
Type
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , June 2022 , pp. 1215 - 1220
Copyright
© [US Gov. entity], 2021. This is a work of the US Government and is not subject to copyright protection within the United States. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc

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