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Synopsis
This was a cross-sectional study of the entire cohort of 7,525 surviving male Korean War veterans residing in Australia, and a comparison sample of 2,964 similarly aged Australian men registered on the Australian Electoral Roll. The study aimed to compare the two populations on measures of current general physical functioning, quality of life including level of life satisfaction, recent hospitalisations, general psychological functioning, anxiety, including posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, alcohol disorders and current common medical conditions. Further, the study aimed to investigate any association between current health and Korean War deployment characteristics such as Service branch, age and level of rank at deployment, duration and era of deployment, and combat severity. The study was funded by the Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Recruitment for the study commenced in March 2004 and concluded in August 2004. The final report was submitted to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs in June 2005.
This study was preceded by a pilot study, which was undertaken in 2003 to assess and improve proposed methods to be used in the main study. A report on the pilot study was submitted to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in December 2002.
The report is available online:
Health Study 2005: Australian Veterans of the Korean War
