Historical Overview

In partnership with Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the Centre for Military and Veterans’ Health, the Defence Health Services, and several universities involved in veterans’ health and military medicine research, the Australian Military Medicine Association embarked on an important strategic initiative in the field of scientific and professional publishing.

Since its inception in 1991, the Association has, as required under its Constitution, published a Journal. This has grown from being a relatively low end newsletter to its current more polished form, Australian Military Medicine.

Recognizing the need to consolidate the efforts of the various groups that have an interest in scientific and professional publishing in the areas of veterans’ health and military medicine, the Association commenced discussions in 2005 to identify a way ahead. At a meeting held in Launceston that year, the three key parties, the Association, the DHS and CMVH agreed that a single journal was required. The Association took on the responsibility to lead this development, and also, within appropriate parameters of fiscal governance, the costs of publication.

As a first step, an Editorial Board has been established with representatives from the key parties, Monash and Ballarat Universities, and the New Zealand Defence Force Health Services. The Board worked to identify an appropriate strategic direction for a new Journal.
The journal’s title The Journal of Military and Veterans’ Health (JMVH), recognises that those who serve in the Armed Forces face health challenges related to the environments and activities in which they are involved during their service with the potential to cause long-term health complaints that arise in their later years in addition to the challenges of access to medical care during their service. This has nowhere been better demonstrated than by the issues that have been raised in recent years over both wartime and peacetime exposure to noxious agents.

The Journal therefore aims to take a very broad view of its subject area, and the Editorial Board believes that it will be the only English-language journal that will have this almost cradle-to-grave scope.

JMVH was launched in October 2007 and will continue to be published quarterly.