Newswise — Courage to Care for Me, a project of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences' (USU) Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, is a recipient of the 2007 American Graphic Design Award. The prestigious award recognizes the center's project, one of over 10,000 entries, as representing "the best and brightest in graphic design."
Courage to Care for Me was piloted by the center during April's Month of the Military Child www.couragetocareforme.org. Center scientists, Drs. Stephen Cozza and Derrick Hamaoka, and public education specialist, Nancy Vineburgh developed the unique and colorful Courage to Care for Me logo in collaboration with Digital Design Group of Boston. The logo was emblazoned on white, pink and blue onesies (infant apparel). The award winning logo also appeared on a clothing tag attached to the onesie that described the purpose of the Courage to Care for Me project " to reinforce positive parenting during the stress of deployment, a time when courage is as important on the home front as on the battlefield. The program received positive feedback from the military sites that distributed it. These sites included National Naval Medical Center Pediatrics Clinic, the Uniformed Services University Health Center, the USU Spouses' Club, the Ft. Carson's Family Advocacy Program, and new mothers groups in the Washington D.C. area. Center Director, Dr. Robert Ursano, chairman and professor of the Department of Psychiatry, believes that "projects such as Courage to Care for Me are important tools that health educators and practitioners can use to foster resilience amongst service members and their families, especially during the stress of deployment."
The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, part of the Department of Psychiatry of USU, conducts research, education, consultation and training on preparing for and responding to the psychological effects and health consequences of traumatic events. These events include natural (hurricanes, floods and tsunami) and human made disasters (motor vehicle and plane crashes, war, terrorism and bioterrorism). The center's work spans studies of genetic vulnerability to stress, individual and community responses to terrorism, and policy recommendations to help our nation and its military and civilian populations. For information about CSTS visit http://www.usuhs.mil/csts.
Located on the grounds of Bethesda's National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) and across from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md. USU is the nation's federal school of medicine and graduate school of nursing. Students are active-duty uniformed officers in the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Public Health Service, who are being educated to deal with wartime casualties, national disasters, emerging infectious diseases, and other public health emergencies.
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