The VA Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry

Understanding the effects of airborne hazard exposure

VA established the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry (AHOBPR) in 2014 to put data to work for Veterans and help us understand the potential health effects of airborne hazard exposures. By joining the registry, Veterans can provide information that supports ongoing research and surveillance. It can also help them identify potential health concerns, discuss them with their providers and get follow-up care.

About the Registry

The Registry includes two parts: an online questionnaire and a free, optional health evaluation

Registry questionnaire:

The questionnaire asks about a Veteran's deployment, health history, lifestyle and other factors. It usually takes about an hour to complete, depending on their number of deployments. More complete information helps support better research.

Environmental health evaluation:

After they finish the questionnaire, Veterans can also schedule an environmental health evaluation at their convenience. Environmental health clinicians who perform the exams may also refer Veterans for additional specialty clinical assessments through the Airborne Hazards and Burn Pits Center of Excellence if needed.

Veterans can join the Registry even if they don't think they were exposed to specific airborne hazards or are not experiencing any symptoms or illnesses. The participation of healthy Veterans helps to strengthen research and improve the care and services provided to all Veterans. It can also help Veterans proactively monitor their health and discuss health issues that may arise in the future with their providers.

To support the data access and analysis needs of the Center using the AHOBPR and VA medical record data, the Center funded the AIMES Collaboration.

Using the Registry to support ongoing research

The Airborne Hazards and Burn Pits Center of Excellence is responsible for the daily operations of the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry. We provide surveillance to monitor trends in the registry regarding enrollment and self-reported health conditions. Additional VA data is merged with the AHOBPR to conduct clinical and large data research. The implementation of the Environmental Health Evaluation, the second part of the AHOBPR process, is being assessed by our researchers to determine best practices.

Our researchers utilize data from the Registry to identify trends that could lead to further research questions and studies or provide clinical implications. Integrating data from the Registry enhances the work we're able to do to understand the long-term effects of airborne hazard exposures.

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Women Veterans Enrolled in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry

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Racial/Ethnic Minority Veterans: A Focus Within the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry