The Department of Veterans' Affairs Depleted Uranium Cohort in the Time of COVID-19: Translating a Traditional Surveillance Protocol to a Telehealth Platform.

McDiarmid, Melissa A; Hines, Stella; Cloeren, Marianne; Gucer, Patricia; Condon, Marian; Oliver, Marc; Roth, Tracy; Lewin-Smith, Michael R et al. · J Occup Environ Med · 2023

other · Level V

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Abstract

In 2021, 37 members of a cohort of depleted uranium-exposed Gulf War I veterans were evaluated using a protocol tailored to accommodate COVID-19 safety practices on a telehealth platform. Individual elements of the legacy protocol were reviewed for urgency and feasibility of inclusion in a modified, telehealth platform. The redesigned protocol included a participant readiness for telehealth assessment, nurse and physician telehealth visits, collection of usual health questionnaires, and urine collections for exposure monitoring for uranium and other fragment-related metal measures. Despite some limitations in scope, the telehealth platform permitted a visual "visit" with surveillance participants who expressed a high comfort level with the format. The telehealth platform has apparent utility for occupational surveillance and should be explored as a standard approach for surveillance outside of public health emergencies.

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