The Department of Veterans Affairs Burn Pit Research Registry has been redesigned.
The database combines veteran and service member data that helps VA to better understand, research, and ultimately improve treatment for the health challenges facing veterans exposed to airborne hazards and burn pits during their military service, according to a release.
“While the registry does not impact an individual veteran’s health care or benefits, it does serve as a catalyst for advancing new and innovative treatments for the veteran population as a whole — including informing decisions related to presumptive conditions, more precise predictive medicine, and proactive veteran care,” said Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal.
The registry will now include more than 4.7 million veterans and service members who meet participation criteria based on Department of Defense records.
“This tool is a significant improvement in making data available in a way that better serves all those who were exposed to burn pits and other hazards,” said Department of Defense Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez.
Living or deceased veterans and service members who, according to DOD records, served in the military campaigns or theater of operations during the designated time frame will be automatically included in the registry:
Operations and Campaigns: Desert Shield and Desert Storm; Iraqi Freedom; Enduring Freedom; and New Dawn.
Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Djibouti, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, waters of the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Syria, Uzbekistan, and Egypt between Aug. 2, 1990, and Aug. 31, 2021.
Somalia since Aug. 2, 1990.
The Southwest Asia theater of military operations and Egypt any time after Aug. 2, 1990.
Afghanistan, Djibouti, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Uzbekistan, or Yemen any time after Sept. 11, 2001.
Associated airspaces with the countries listed above as well as the waters of the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, and the Red Sea.
The list is in addition to those who were based or stationed at a location on or after Sept. 11, 2001, where an open burn pit was used in Afghanistan, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Egypt, or Syria.
The data included in the registry includes deployment locations, military personnel information, and demographics to include gender, race, and ethnicity. No medical information will be stored in the registry, according to the release. Data will be accessible only to select VA epidemiologists and researchers and institutional review board-approved researchers.
Data will be used to conduct research on the cohort over a period of time. The results will inform the policy decision-making efforts of VA executive leaders, including those related to presumptive conditions.
Those who do not wish to participate in the Registry can opt out here.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.