The management of battle-fatigued soldiers: an occupational therapy model

Battle fatigue is a soldier's response to the overwhelming environmental and psychological stressors associated with combat. Management efforts that emphasize replenishment of physiologic needs, structured occupation, and support of the affected soldier's occupational roles have yielded high return-to-duty rates. Although such effective battle-fatigue management principles, or "principles of battlefield psychiatry," are well described, they have not been explained in terms of theoretical foundation. The model of human occupation, an occupational therapy treatment model, is presented as a theoretical framework to explain the success of current battle-fatigue management principles and to guide continued refinement of the process of restoring battle-fatigued soldiers to duty.