Suchergebnisse

Introduction: Smartphones have made promising contributions to the field of military mental health by providing novel app-based approaches to enhance training and deployment, data collection, and creating social domains for participants to share information and perform research. Methods: This article reviews four applications designed specifically for military members and Veterans that increase mental health literacy, overcome barriers to care, and enhance well-being and performance. Results: The Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) app is an on-the-go training tool based on cognitive behavioural theory (CBT). Unit Victor connects Veterans in a secure chat environment and provides information on available supports. UrMMIND is a pre-deployment tool designed to reinforce healthy behaviours and teach coping techniques. iFeel passively collects and analyses individual smartphone data to detect early signs of depression. Discussion: Mobile apps are playing an ever-increasing role within health care and, when designed and integrated correctly, can yield many benefits. While security and privacy need to be carefully weighed and addressed, they hold the potential to empower the end user in a range of novel ways that were not possible before.

Introduction: Virtual reality (VR)-based interventions, wearable technology and text mining hold promising potential for advancing the way in which military and Veteran mental health conditions are diagnosed and treated. They have the ability to improve treatment protocol adherence, assist in the detection of mental health conditions, enhance resilience and increase a patient's motivation to continue therapy. Methods: This article explores five cutting-edge research projects designed to leverage VR-based interventions, wearable technology, and text mining to improve military and Veteran mental health. A computer-animated virtual agent provides online coaching for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients in their own homes to enhance treatment compliance. A head-mounted display safely immerses PTSD patients in a virtual world to relive past experiences and associate them with new meanings. Gaming and simulation technology are tested as a way to improve resilience and performance in military members in deployment-related scenarios. Guidelines are developed for the creation of wearable assistive technology for military members and Veterans. Text mining is explored as a way to assist in the detection of PTSD. Results: VR-based therapy, gaming and simulation, wearable assistive and sensory technology, and text mining hold promise for diagnosing, monitoring, and treating military mental health conditions. Discussion: The five research projects presented have made promising contributions to the field of military and Veteran mental health, either by advancing diagnostic trajectories, contributing to therapy or enhancing the process by developing new approaches to delivering preventive or curative care.