Exploring the impact of a single-session health-focused intervention on active-duty military personnel

Active-duty military personnel often face significant mental health challenges, including high rates of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse. Despite the clear need for mental health interventions, service members frequently underutilize available services due to time constraints, concerns about career impact, and confidentiality issues. This study evaluates the acceptability and clinical impact of the Health Education Training (HET) program, a 50-min, single-session, computer-based intervention designed to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors among active-duty military personnel. The HET program addresses diet, alcohol use, exercise, sleep, and stress management, providing a transdiagnostic approach to mental health. A trial was conducted with 95 active-duty service members who were not already seeking on-base mental health treatment. Participants completed pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up assessments at one and three months. Results indicated high acceptability of the HET intervention, with participants rating it as understandable, helpful, and applicable to their daily lives and military stressors. Importantly, no participants dropped out during the intervention session. Clinically significant reductions in depression, hopelessness, and alcohol use were observed at the three-month follow-up, suggesting that the HET program can yield meaningful improvements in mental health. These findings highlight the potential of the HET program as a scalable, low-burden intervention that can be integrated into military mental health infrastructures to promote resilience and well-being among service members.