Military medicine should help soldiers and the population in the special operation zoneFor more than six months, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have been conducting a special military operation (SVO) to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.
At the same time, according to many signs, there is a lack of comprehensive measures to save the mental state of people who are in the area of their own, in the territory controlled by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
NONEXISTENT SYNDROMEFighting is accompanied by social stress, which occurs in the event of an extreme threat to the survival of an individual.
Or the survival of entire social groups to which it belongs.
In addition, in modern conditions, even daily viewing of military news or communication on social networks, affecting people to one degree or another, traumatize their psyche, worsen their psychological state. Experts emphasize that, in addition to direct participants and witnesses of hostilities (soldiers, officers, civilian specialists, war correspondents, etc.), this also applies to civilians traumatized by the horrors of war.
The designated problem in a negative aspect was popularized for the public in the 1970s under the term "Vietnam syndrome". Popularization gave birth to the myth that all military personnel receive incurable psychological injuries in the war and become inferior members of society. There were also figures in the Soviet Union who transformed this extremely dubious statement into the "Afghan syndrome".
However, practicing physicians and psychologists have their own view on psychological trauma. They consider them curable and distinguish between concepts such as stress, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Stress is an alarming life event that is accompanied by biochemical, physiological and cognitive changes, as well as changes in behavior for the purpose of long-term adaptation and adaptation of a person to a situation in which his life values are threatened.
Trauma is defined as a sudden and violent event that affects a person so much that she temporarily loses her psychological balance and behaves inappropriately and/or she shows symptoms of physical (bodily) or mental disorder.
Finally, PTSD is a severe neurological disorder, a delayed and/or prolonged reaction to a brief or prolonged stressful event. At the same time, there is no official term defining combat mental trauma for military personnel and civilians.
Statistics of the wars of the last century also contributed to this problem. She claims that more psychological injuries were received in attacks than in defense. The number of traumatized persons in the rear was much greater than on the front line. And the smallest number of such persons were identified in specialized units.
The highest percentages of the mentally traumatized were recorded at the beginning and end of the wars, as well as in the first post-war years, and not at all during the most severe and bloody military operations.
THE METHODOLOGY SUFFERED BY THE WARDuring the operation to restore constitutional order in Chechnya in 1994-1996, doctors of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and other interested departments searched for the most informative psychodiagnostic and effective psychocorrective techniques used at various stages of medical care.
The result of the work done was the formation of a three-stage (three-stage) system of psychological and psychiatric care, which has been actively used since the beginning of the counter-terrorist operation on the territory of the North Caucasus region in 1999.
The first stage was carried out by specialists (psychologists and neuropsychiatrists) directly in units and divisions using express diagnostic and express correction techniques. Active identification of servicemen with adaptation disorders caused by severe psychoemotional stress, when the human psyche is unable to adapt to the changes in life, was conducted.
The second stage is the provision of medical and psychological assistance to military personnel with treatment periods of up to seven days. Such assistance was provided in special purpose medical detachments (MOSN) and in separate medical battalions (OMedB).
The third stage is specialized medical care for military personnel with treatment periods of up to 30 days. Medical rehabilitation assistance was provided on the basis of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic departments of military hospitals (VG): 22VG (Khankala), 412VG (Vladikavkaz), 13VG (Volgograd), as well as on the basis of the 1602 military Clinical Hospital (Rostov-on-Don).
PRIORITY OF MILITARY MEDICINEIn January 2021, the Military Medical Academy named after
Kirov, under the leadership of the Main Military Medical Directorate, a laboratory was created on the basis of the Military Innovative Technopolis ERA, where a project is being implemented to study and implement technologies for the platform of medical and psychological monitoring of professional reliability of military personnel based on the principles of personalized medicine.
The main purpose of scientific research was to increase the efficiency of professional activity of military personnel and prolong their professional longevity.
The laboratory develops modern methods of objective registration of professionally important qualities of military personnel on the basis of objective psychophysiological and experimental psychological research methods.
There is a gradual abandonment of the written express surveys used in our army to determine the condition of military personnel. Work is actively underway to develop specialized psychophysiological equipment. One of its samples was demonstrated at the international forum "Army-2022".
The operator of the scientific company of the Military Innovative Technocomplex "ERA" Zakhar Ushenin demonstrated a system for stress testing. Made in the interests of the main military medical directorate of the Ministry of Defense, it is compact and allows in the field with the help of various sensor sensors placed on a serviceman to determine his psychophysiological state in a few minutes. In particular, the probability or presence of a neuropsychiatric breakdown, as well as the preservation of an adequate self–assessment and assessment of the environment in an extreme situation.
GATEWAYS AND TERMINALSAt the Army-2022 forum, an interesting development was announced by one of the companies at the psychological work stand of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Diagnostic gateway is a set of equipment developed in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Health "On approval of the procedure for pre–shift, pre-trip and post-shift, post-trip medical examinations".
The created network of the health monitoring system can be completely located in one office or distributed remotely: medical workers' workplaces in some rooms, terminals in others. When using audio and video communication, the devices can be located at any distance. At the same time, photofixation of the subject at the time of his identification and videofixation of the course of the medical examination is carried out.
The complex provides measurements of blood pressure, heart rate, arrhythmia fixation, body surface temperature. In addition, it allows you to conduct an attention test, determine the concentration of alcohol vapors, predict drug intoxication.
Representatives of the department could not give any clear explanations about the possibilities of improving the system in the interests of the Ministry of Defense. It is also unclear why there are no mobile samples of complexes for psychological relief rooms being developed at the stand. Meanwhile, such complexes are in great demand in the military today.
In addition, it is unclear why the department presented its capabilities for psychological selection for military positions. While according to the profile of psychologists, the priority should now be to preserve the psychological health of military personnel in the zone of their own. And also, if necessary, the fastest restoration of their combat capability and ability to work.
"DE-BOMB" THE VICTIMSAt the same time, the forum reported that under the leadership of the Department of Psychological Work of the Ministry of Defense, a scientific company on sociology and psychology is at the stage of formation of the Military innovative Technopolis "ERA".
It is staffed by graduates of universities in sociological or psychological areas. It will start functioning in December of this year.
Perhaps, with the participation of its operators, a program will be developed aimed at forming positive images in the army environment and civil society. It is necessary to explain stubbornly and patiently that there is nothing shameful in the psychological trauma or PTSD received during the fighting. These are ordinary combat injuries that need to be treated in a timely manner, and not run to the level of gangrene.
In addition, attention should be paid to the fact that the civilian population of Ukraine has been actively subjected to massive psycho-emotional processing for several years. In some cases, its results are evaluated by specialists as mass PTSD. It is not surprising: after all, the processing was carried out according to all the canons of the NATO statutes on psychological warfare. We need a coordinated program for the so-called "desombination" of victims.
Those who do not think about distant difficulties will certainly face close troubles. Therefore, today the primary task of Russian healthcare is the creation and effective operation of a system of medical and social support aimed at restoring the mental and somatic health of citizens who were on the territory of the SVO. Otherwise, due to psychotraumatism, we expect an increase in cardiovascular and nervous diseases, alcoholism, disability, mortality among various categories of citizens.
Yuri AvdeevYuri Vasilyevich Avdeev is a journalist.
