The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) Program is an evidence-based mental health training and education program. It provides the military personnel with tools for dealing with stressful situations and reduces the risk of developing mental illness (Surgeon General, 2013).
In 2002 an Ombudsman report had identified the poor mental health system in support of soldiers returning from combat missions like those in the former Yugoslavia, Somalia, Rwanda, and Afghanistan. The psychological cost of returning soldiers had seriously impacted the operational capability of CAF. It is only in 2006 that the leadership started to improve the mental health system. Hence, the R2MR program was introduced and developed in 2007 at the …show more content…
The R2MR is very specific to the immediate context of the targeted audience, and it would be reasonable to believe that the training and the educational tools of the program are a principal cause of the outcomes. Although the impact seems more general, the various intermediate outcomes are more specific and could be immediately measured to validate the program (Posavac, 2011).
As part of the program theory, the stakeholders understand that military mental health training must have the following criteria:
• To be integrated into the organizational culture;
• Be based on clear requirements and needs; and
• Built in a developmental fashion to progressively add concepts and skills over time (Bailey, 2015).
Because this program is evidence-based and was adapted from the United States Marine Corps, it benefited from a strong credibility (Surgeon General, 2013). However, the strength of the program theory is the actual program design to impact the individual attitudes and behaviors by targeting a larger cultural change, including the organizational and family environment it creates a stronger engagement effect (Bailey, …show more content…
Because, of the strength of the program, its proximity, and its flexibility to the target audience, it is reasonable to believe that the program will improve the well-being and short-term performance while mitigating any negative long-term mental health problems for both CAF personnel and their families. Moreover, considering that findings from 2002 indicated that 84% to 96% of CAF personnel that met criteria for a mental disorder, did not use services stated that they did not need services, I think the program will contribute to help CAF personnel recognize distress and seek support when required (Bailey, 2015). However, the success of the program is related to this actual context, perhaps, if the organizational culture change to the point that CAF personnel master their mental health continuum, the requirement for such education will become irrelevant. Therefore, it would be important to evaluate the context at the same time of evaluating the program outcomes (Posavac,
In 2002 an Ombudsman report had identified the poor mental health system in support of soldiers returning from combat missions like those in the former Yugoslavia, Somalia, Rwanda, and Afghanistan. The psychological cost of returning soldiers had seriously impacted the operational capability of CAF. It is only in 2006 that the leadership started to improve the mental health system. Hence, the R2MR program was introduced and developed in 2007 at the …show more content…
The R2MR is very specific to the immediate context of the targeted audience, and it would be reasonable to believe that the training and the educational tools of the program are a principal cause of the outcomes. Although the impact seems more general, the various intermediate outcomes are more specific and could be immediately measured to validate the program (Posavac, 2011).
As part of the program theory, the stakeholders understand that military mental health training must have the following criteria:
• To be integrated into the organizational culture;
• Be based on clear requirements and needs; and
• Built in a developmental fashion to progressively add concepts and skills over time (Bailey, 2015).
Because this program is evidence-based and was adapted from the United States Marine Corps, it benefited from a strong credibility (Surgeon General, 2013). However, the strength of the program theory is the actual program design to impact the individual attitudes and behaviors by targeting a larger cultural change, including the organizational and family environment it creates a stronger engagement effect (Bailey, …show more content…
Because, of the strength of the program, its proximity, and its flexibility to the target audience, it is reasonable to believe that the program will improve the well-being and short-term performance while mitigating any negative long-term mental health problems for both CAF personnel and their families. Moreover, considering that findings from 2002 indicated that 84% to 96% of CAF personnel that met criteria for a mental disorder, did not use services stated that they did not need services, I think the program will contribute to help CAF personnel recognize distress and seek support when required (Bailey, 2015). However, the success of the program is related to this actual context, perhaps, if the organizational culture change to the point that CAF personnel master their mental health continuum, the requirement for such education will become irrelevant. Therefore, it would be important to evaluate the context at the same time of evaluating the program outcomes (Posavac,