Agent Orange Research Program

Arising from studies conducted on Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange, the Joiner Center initiated a program with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to monitor subjects' health, their children's health and the delivery of medical and educational services.

Drawing on a 1983 study on the status of veterans and a 1988 follow-up study, coupled with declining resources, the program tested the access and level of services provided to the children of Vietnam veterans suffering from an increased number of birth defects in comparison with the general population.

The 1988 study, From a Troubled Past to an Uncertain Future: Vietnam Veterans, A Community at Risk, had discovered an increase in birth defects in addition to their findings on PTSD, unemployment and economic status. The study recommended that Massachusetts establish a task force of leaders in the areas of public health, mental health, housing, employment, education, veterans services and disability care to formulate strategies to address the problem.