Assessing Military Mental Health during the Pandemic: A Five Country Collaboration

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Military Medicine
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to military operations and personnel well-being.
• Effective leadership decision-making during crises relies on timely and accurate information.
• International collaboration was essential to address the global nature of the pandemic's impact.

Purpose of the Study:

• To detail an international technical panel's collaboration in developing military-focused COVID-19 surveys.
• To review findings from surveys designed to inform military leaders early in the pandemic.
• To highlight the role of rapid employee surveys in crisis management.

Main Methods:

• Development of rapid employee surveys by a multi-national technical panel (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, US).
• Dissemination of survey findings to military leadership for decision support.
• Analysis of survey data to assess military personnel's experiences during the pandemic.

Main Results:

• Initial surveys indicated generally positive mental health and leadership perceptions among military personnel.
• These positive findings did not extend to personnel involved in COVID-19 response operations.
• Later stages of the pandemic revealed different experiences than those observed early on.

Conclusions:

• Rapid development and sharing of employee survey results are crucial for empowering military leaders in crises.
• Organizational support and leadership actions are vital for maintaining personnel well-being during public health emergencies.
• The limitations of early pandemic survey data underscore the need for continuous monitoring and adaptive strategies.