Optimizing military mental health and stress resilience training through the lens of trainee preferences: A conjoint analysis approach.

Effective mental health and stress resilience (MHSR) training is essential in military populations given their exposure to operational stressors. The scarcity of empirical evidence supporting the benefits of these programs emphasizes the need for research dedicated to program optimization. This paper aims to identify the relative importance of MHSR training attributes preferred by military members. Conjoint analysis (CA), an experimental method used to prioritize end-user preferences for product feature development, was conducted using an online survey with 567 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel. Participants made a series of choices between hypothetical MHSR training options that were systematically varied across seven training attributes. Each training attribute consisted of 3-4 variations in the nature of the attribute or its intensity. Participants also completed questions on health beliefs, mental health and previous MHSR training experiences, and demographics, to assess whether preferences varied by individual characteristics. CA demonstrated that instructor type, leadership buy-in, degree of skills practice, and content relevance/applicability were attributes of highest and relatively equal importance. This was followed by degree of accessible supplemental content. Lowest importance was placed on degree of behavioral nudging and demographic similarity between the trainee and trainer. Sociodemographic factors were not associated with MHSR training preferences. Programs that incorporate expert-led instruction, demonstrate leadership buy-in, embed practical applications within simulated stress environments, and provide a digitally-accessible platform to augment training may be well-received among military members. Understanding and accommodating personal preferences when designing MHSR training programs may increase relevance, foster acceptance and trust, and support sustained engagement.

Beyond battlemind: evaluation of a new mental health training program for Canadian forces personnel participating in third-location decompression.

INTRODUCTION: 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). CONCLUSION: 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.