Could Screening Soldiers Reduce Mental Health Problems?
If soldiers were to be screened for mental wellness before deployment, it could significantly reduce the number of psychiatric and behavioural problems experienced by military personnel. This is according to a new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in Advance, which found that pre-deployment screening reduced mental health issues by 78% and cut suicidal thoughts in half.
The mental wellbeing of soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan is seriously under threat, as a disturbing number return home with mental health problems. For example, a recent study in the Archives of General Psychiatry reported that posttraumatic stress disorder and depression affects an average of 10% of returning soldiers. The number of soldiers who are forced to leave the Army solely because of a mental illness increased by 64% from 2005 to 2009, according to another recent study’s findings, and it was reported a recent military suicide prevention conference 18 veterans of all wars commit suicide each day in the United States.
A total of six combat brigades, who were all part of the 2007-2008 surges of forces to Iraq, participated in the new study, which was led by Warner CH et al. 10,353 soldiers in three brigades were not screened for mental health issues and served as controls, whilst 10,678 soldiers in three other brigades underwent mental health screening. Of this latter group, 7.7% (or 819 soldiers) were identified as needing additional mental health evaluation.
This led to 74 of the 819 (9%) not being deployed and 96 (11.7%) were deployed with additional requirements. If you are not deployed, this can be for a variety of reasons, such as the presence of psychosis or bipolar disorders. However, you are still allowed to serve if you are currently on a stable medication programme, and your care is tracked during deployment.
The study also found that, at the six-month follow-up, soldiers who had been screened were significantly less likely to have clinical contacts in the areas of suicidal thoughts (suicidal ideation), combat stress, psychiatric disorders, occupational impairment, and the need for air evacuation for behavioural health reasons, in comparison with the control soldiers. This is the first time that researchers have systematically evaluated pre-deployment mental health screening, and the results suggest that mental health screening of soldiers before they are deployed can make a significant difference in the prevalence of mental health problems, including suicidal ideation.
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