Military Health Experts Discuss Use of Life Saving Technology

By Sarah Heynen

We’ve all heard the messaging: “Look out for your battle buddy,” “There’s help out there,” “You are not alone.” All of this is true and should continue, but in today’s world reaching out for help isn’t always done in traditional ways.

Technology-based suicide prevention efforts was a topic of discussion at the 2011 Departments of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Suicide Prevention Conference, “All the Way Home: Preventing Suicide Among Service Members and Veterans,” last week in Boston.

Dr. David Luxton, with the National Center for Telehealth and Technology (T2), shared that the emergence and popularity of modern technology brings new opportunities in a variety of ways including prevention and intervention programs, self-care applications, risk assessment, access to care, outreach, social support and the ability to educate and raise awareness.

“Social networking is a way to distribute information and resources,” said Luxton. He also spoke on how the rise in social networking has provided a sense of community and connection for warriors. We at the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) use our own social media channels, like Facebook, Twitter, Blog and Scribd, to share materials and connect with our audiences. Did you see the video, “A Creed for a Comrade” released in September? The video reached an estimated 1.4 million people in September alone, and it was only distributed through social media channels.

Luxton also noted the increase in use of mobile devices and smartphones, stating that they will likely surpass the use of computers to access the Internet within two years. T2 recently released the mobile application Mood Tracker, which allows warriors to track their emotional health after deployments – by helping users monitor trends of emotions and behaviors from therapy, medication, daily experiences and changes in their environment. This application is currently available free for use on Androids and will be available for iPhone users soon.

Other innovative technologies mentioned include:

■Web-based video and podcasting

■Virtual Worlds: Visit Virtual PTSD Experience on Second Life to learn about post-traumatic stress disorder causes, symptoms and resources. Also, Survivors of Suicide Project allows survivors to light candles in remembrance of lost loved ones, interact with each other and find coping resources.

■Computer and web-based gaming

■Computerized text analysis

Reaching out is as simple as making a phone call or sending a text to your buddy to check-in. Preventing suicide is a responsibility we should all accept. Please take a minute to find out what you can do to help someone in need. And if you know someone in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK; veterans please press 1.

For more on this topic visit the T2 Website and the DCoE Information Sheet, T2 Virtual PTSD Experience.