title: Beyond battlemind: evaluation of a new mental health training program for Canadian forces personnel participating in third-location decompression.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Battlemind training, which improves postdeployment well-being, has been part of Canada's postdeployment Third-location Decompression (TLD) program since 2006. In 2010, a new educational program drawing on Battlemind was implemented to make it more consistent with Canada's current mental health training strategy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects consisted of 22,113 Canadian personnel returning from Afghanistan via TLD in Cyprus; 3,024 (14%) received the new program. Pre-/post-training attitude and self-efficacy questionnaires assessed the impact of the training. In addition, a quasi-experimental approach used questionnaires administered at the end of TLD to compare the satisfaction, attitudes, and self-efficacy under the old vs. new program.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pre-/post-training questionnaires showed medium to large positive effects of the training on targeted attitudes and self-efficacy (Cohen's d = 0.44-1.02). Participants completing the new program were more satisfied with the educational program (adjusted odds ratio = 3.2), perceived the TLD to be more valuable (odds ratio = 1.7), and had at least certain more favorable post-TLD attitudes and self-efficacy (d ranging from 0.00 to 0.29).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  All of these findings point to the superiority of the new program. However, quasi-experimental approaches are bias-prone, and it is unknown whether these advantages will translate into meaningful improvements in well-being.
authors.affiliation: Directorate of Mental Health, Canadian Forces Health Services Group Headquarters, 1745 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K6, Canada.
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zamorski
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Guest
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.forename: Bryan G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Garber
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D002170:Canada; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health / Q000193:education*; D008887:Military Medicine / Q000193:education*; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000193:education*; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires