The Italian Air Force rehabilitation programme for air-sickness

Abstract

Motion Sickness, or kinetosis, is a complex clinical syndrome usually classified according to the environmental situation evoking the symptoms. Among the various forms of motion sickness, air sickness has a significant impact on aircrew readiness and is often a cause for the grounding of aircrew. Unfortunately, standards for clinical testing to accurately predict the sensitivity of each individual to air-sickness are currently lacking. Furthermore, pharmacological prevention is contraindicated for aircrews, whose cognitive tasks involve a high level of vigilance. Therefore, a number of Air Forces have developed their own rehabilitation programmes to counteract air-sickness effects on flight personnel. These programmes may differ in several aspects, such as their duration, instruments used, costs and the technical characteristics of the rehabilitation team. However, reports in the specialized literature, refer to high rates of success, despite the above-mentioned differences. In the autumn of 2000, the Italian Air Force (ITAF) also began its own rehabilitation programme for air-sickness desensitisation. The programme was developed at the Aerospace Medicine Department of the ITAF Flight Test Centre, at the Pratica di Mare Air Force Base, Italy. The ITAF rehabilitation course lasts two weeks, and candidates are first classified according to their clinical history and to their reaction to the Coriolis Stress Test. Thereafter, subjects undergo a personalized desensitisation programme, involving increasingly more intense nauseogenic stimuli by means of various devices. At the same time, a psychological approach, based on autogenous training and cognitive-behavioural therapy, is adopted. The present report refers to data from 17 subjects treated from January 2001. The current clinical outcome is extremely encouraging, with a success rate of 88%. Nevertheless, several aspects of motion sickness rehabilitation are still under investigation, and further research programmes, aimed at improving the final clinical outcome and prolonging the benefits of rehabilitation, are needed.