title: Soldiers' personal technologies on deployment and at home.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Personal technologies such as smartphones, computers, and gaming devices, are ubiquitous in the civilian world. Consequently they represent ideal vehicles for disseminating psychological and other health resources and interventions. However, almost nothing is known about personal technology use in the U.S. military. We conducted the most comprehensive survey to date of the use, availability, and need for personal technologies by U.S. military service members. Our survey asked detailed questions about computers and the Internet, phones and smartphones, other mobile or portable technologies, gaming devices, and TV and video media used during deployment and at permanent duty station or home.
  
  
  METHODS
  We collected data by paper-and-pencil survey in 2010 and 2011 from 331 active Army service members at a processing and registration center in a large military installation in the western United States. Two cohorts were surveyed: Soldiers who had previously been deployed to a warzone and soldiers who had never been deployed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We measured high rates of personal technology use by service members at home across all popular electronic media. Soldiers at home essentially resembled civilian consumers in their use of popular technologies. Some technologies, including the Internet, gaming, and TV, were widespread on deployment. Others, most notably cellphones, were more restricted by availability, connectivity, opportunity, and military regulation in the warzone. Results will enable researchers and technology developers target their efforts on the most promising and popular technologies for psychological health in the military.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Telehealth and Technology, 9933 West Hayes Street, OMAMC, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Tacoma, WA 98431, USA. nigel.bush@us.army.mil
authors.forename: Nigel E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Bush
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fullerton
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Crumpton
authors.forename: Melinda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Metzger-Abamukong
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fantelli
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008887:Military Medicine; D008889:Military Personnel; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult