Mental health of UK Armed Forces medical personnel post-deployment

Cawkill, Paul; Jones, Michael David; Fear, Nicola T.; Jones, Nicholas; Fertout, Mohammed; Wessely, Simon; Greenberg, Neil

doi:10.1093/occmed/kqu200

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Protection of mental health for healthcare professionals at frontline of pandemic situation is critical, not only for successful termination of COVID-19 pandemic in the long term [ 62 ] but also for prevention of suffer of PHDs and military medical staffs from post-traumatic stress symptoms after deployment [ 63 , 64 ]. Also, the current study revealed possible protective factors of mental health for PHDs with working experiences at frontline of COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between the working experiences at frontline of COVID-19 pandemic and mental health of Korean public health doctors

Han

Choi

Cho³

et al. 2021

BMC Psychiatry

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Background Demographic, work environmental, and psychosocial features are associated with mental health of healthcare professionals at pandemic frontline. The current study aimed to find predictors of mental health for public health doctors from working experiences at frontline of COVID-19 pandemic. Methods With first-come and first-served manner, 350 public health doctors with experiences of work at COVID-19 frontline participated online survey on August 2020. Mental health was defined using the total scores of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Stanford Presenteeism Scale-6. Multivariate logistic regression models of mental health with lowest Akaike Information Criterion were determined among all combinations of working environments, perceived threats and satisfaction at frontline, and demographics that were significant (P < 0.05) in the univariate logistic regression. Results Perceived distress, lowered self-efficacy at work, anxiety, and depressive mood were reported by 45.7, 34.6, 11.4, and 15.1% of respondents, respectively. Predictors of poor mental health found in the multivariate logistic regression analyses were environmental (insufficient personal protective equipment, workplace of screening center, prolonged workhours) and psychosocial (fear of infection and death, social stigma and rejection) aspects of working experiences at frontline. Satisfaction of monetary compensation and proactive coping (acceptance and willingness to volunteer at frontline) were predictive of better mental health. Conclusions Sufficient supply of personal protective equipment and training on infection prevention at frontline, proper workhours and satisfactory monetary compensation, and psychological supports are required for better mental health of public health doctors at frontline of COVID-19 pandemic.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between the working experiences at frontline of COVID-19 pandemic and mental health of Korean public health doctors

Han

Choi

Cho³

et al. 2021

BMC Psychiatry

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“…In men, the development of a CMD is more often driven by whether they felt capable of undertaking the task asked of them in relation to their trade or experience. For women, the development of a CMD depends on whether there was a perception that their life was threatened, or they may be injured 35 . There is some evidence to suggest that shooting at or killing an enemy may be more traumatic than coming under fire 36 .…”

Section: Deployment and Combatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk factors for mental ill health in UK Army personnel: an overview

Ross¹,

Mackay

Bergman

2021

BMJ Mil Health

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Women in the UK military are more commonly diagnosed with a mental health disorder than men, but the reasons for this difference are not fully understood. This literature review identifies the risk factors for mental ill health in military personnel before serving, during service and as a veteran. The interaction of risk factors is complex and, in some cases, may be synergistic, such as experiencing adverse events in childhood and exposure to combat. Identification of risk factors allows further research to better understand differences between men and women, and the impact of these risk factors on army personnel. In turn this will inform better preventive strategies, which could be targeted at the primary, secondary or tertiary levels.

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“…Research shows that UK military personnel who have deployed in combat roles are a high-risk group for developing PTSD 26 27. Despite this, the incidence of PTSD remains relatively low 2.…”

Section: Why Is Resilience Important To the Military?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the UK military, both decompression and TRiM have proved beneficial for military personnel returning from deployments or who have been involved with a traumatic event 41. TRiM has been shown to enhance line manager support and reduce sickness absence 26. The Stress and Resilience Centre at Shrivenham runs the ‘Leading by Example’ courses, which aim to equip personnel with strategies to help them deal with life stress 42.…”

Section: Current Resilience Building Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why is building psychological resilience relevant to UK Service personnel in order to improve military mental health?

Daffey-Moore¹

2018

BMJ Mil Health

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This article will aim to give an overview of stress and resilience, briefly exploring current definitions. It will try to identify why psychological resilience is relevant in the military context and suggest why the UK military could be exploring data from other countries and welfare bodies to enhance their own stress management policies in order to improve military mental health. The MOD (Ministry of Defence) understands their duty of care and has developed a clear strategic intent to tackle the increasing numbers of personnel developing mental health issues. While all three Services currently have in place comprehensive predeployment and postdeployment strategies to signpost individuals, there is a lack of psychological fitness training. Examining resilience in the civilian sector has identified the relevance for individuals to be psychologically resilient in any context. The skills and techniques of the Special Forces are now becoming popular in the business world to increase resilience in individuals and their organisations. The MOD could improve military mental health through relevant strategies aimed at building resilience.

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Mental health of UK Armed Forces medical personnel post-deployment

Cited by 11 publications

References 25 publications

Associations between the working experiences at frontline of COVID-19 pandemic and mental health of Korean public health doctors

Associations between the working experiences at frontline of COVID-19 pandemic and mental health of Korean public health doctors

Risk factors for mental ill health in UK Army personnel: an overview

Why is building psychological resilience relevant to UK Service personnel in order to improve military mental health?

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