title: Postdeployment military mental health training: cross-national evaluations.
abstract: Deployments increase risk for adjustment problems in service members. To mitigate this increased risk, mental health training programs have been developed and implemented in several nations. As part of a coordinated effort, three nations adapted a U.S. mental health training program that had been validated by a series of group randomized trials demonstrating improvement in postdeployment adjustment. Implementation of evidence-based programs in a new context is challenging: How much of the original program needs to remain intact in order to retain its utility? User satisfaction rates can provide essential data to assess how well a program is accepted. This article summarizes service member ratings of postdeployment mental health training and compares ratings from service members across four nations. The participating nations (Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States) administered mental health training to active duty military personnel in their respective nations. Following the training, military personnel completed an evaluation of the training. Overall, across the four nations, more than 70% of military personnel agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with the mental health training. Although some differences in evaluations were observed across nations, components of training that were most important to overall satisfaction with the training were strikingly similar across nations. Fundamentally, it appears feasible that despite cultural and organizational differences, a mental health training program developed in one nation can be successfully adapted for use in other nations.
authors.affiliation: US Army Medical Research Unit-Europe, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Heidelberg, Germany. heather.m.foran.ctr@us.army.mil
authors.forename: Heather M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Foran
authors.forename: Bryan G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Garber
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zamorski
authors.forename: Mariane
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wray
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mulligan
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Greenberg
authors.forename: Carl Andrew
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: Amy B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Adler
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002170:Canada; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D009520:New Zealand; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D006113:United Kingdom; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult