NATO Human Factors and Medicine Panel Activities

1
NATO Human Factors and Medicine Panel
Activities Psychological Health and Mild
Traumatic Brain Injury/Concussion 2 October
2009 John F. Glenn, Ph.D. Human Factors and
Medicine Panel Member
2
Psychological Health and Mild Traumatic Brain
Injury
Completed HFM-RTG-081 Stress and Psychological
Support in Military Operations HFM-RLS-167 Psychol
ogical Support Across the Deployment Cycle In
Progress HFM-RLS-137 Force Health Protection
HFM-RTG-164 Psychological Aspects of Health
Behaviors on Deployed Military Operations
HFM-RTG-179 Moral Dilemmas and Mental Health
Problems Exploratory Teams HFM-ET-100 Mild
Traumatic Brain Injury HFM-ET-103 Suicide in
Military HFM-ET-104 Mental Health Training
3

• HFM-RTG-081 Stress and Psychological Support in
  Military Operations
• Area Code HP UK6 Taxonomy Code
• Chairman Bruign (NLD)
• PfP Participation Yes
• Classification NATO Unclassified
• Objective
• Provide military leaders with information and
  practical guidelines on stress and psychological
  support to enhance effectiveness in modern
  military operations based on international
  collaboration.

4
HFM-RTG-081 Stress and Psychological Support in
Military Operations

• Developed A Leaders Guide to Psychological
  Support Across the Deployment Cycle, which
  included the following chapters
• Military Leaders Role in Psychological Readiness
• What Unit Members and Leaders Expect
• Individual Psychological Fitness
• Morale and Unit Effectiveness
• Military Family Readiness
• What to Do When Things Go Wrong
• Working with Psychological Support Professionals
• Reports on best practices in psychological
  support before, during, and after operations
  included
• Inventories of instruments used to survey unit
  morale
• An inventory of clinical tools used across NATO
  and PfP nations for assessment, intervention, and
  education with individuals and groups before,
  during, and after deployments in routine and
  crisis situations
• Presented as a lecture series (HFM-RLS-167) in
  Spain and Estonia.

5

• HFM-RLS-167 Psychological Support Across the
  Deployment Cycle
• Area Code HP UK6 Taxonomy Code
• Chair Cuvelier (BEL)
• PfP Participation Yes
• Classification NATO Unclassified
• Objective
• Lecture series based on A Leaders Guide to
  Psychological Support Across the Deployment Cycle
  (developed as part of HFM-RTG-081), including
  topics on psychological support across the
  deployment cycle in military training and
  education.
• Short Report Completed lecture series in
  Madrid, Spain, and Tartu, Estonia (October 2008).

6

• HFM-RLS-137 Force Health Protection
• Area Code HP UK6 Taxonomy Code
• Chair Roedig (DEU)
• PfP Participation GEO, MDA
• Classification NATO Unclassified
• Objectives
• Provide special expertise furthering exercises
  and training.
• Achieve high levels of medical standards,
  interoperability, and cooperation for working
  well in multinational coalitions in crisis and
  conflict.
• Short Report Lecture series covered
  state-of-the-art knowledge of all current aspects
  of Force Health Protection in NATO, including
  mental health casualty prevention. Presented in
  Herzliya, Israel (November 2008).

7

• HFM-RTG-164 Psychological Aspects of Health
  Behaviors on Deployed Military Operations
  
• Area Code HP UK6 Taxonomy Code
• Chair Verrall (GBR)
• Meeting Dates September 2009, Amsterdam,
  Netherlands
• PfP Participation Open
• Classification NATO Unclassified
• Objectives
• Prioritize the impact of health-related behaviors
  on operational readiness.
• Evaluate the effects of military operations on
  health-related behaviors across all phases of the
  deployment, and explore novel strategies for
  their amelioration.
• Examine the relationships between
  military-relevant stressors and health-related
  behaviors that affect the performance of military
  personnel.
• Identify the key covariates for health-related
  behaviors relative to deployment, with special
  attention to the psychology of risk.

8
HFM-RTG-164 Psychological Aspects of Health
Behaviors on Deployed Military Operations Short
Report The group explored a number of possible
behaviors and their relationship to deployment
(Tallinn, Estonia, November 2007 Ottawa, Canada,
June 2008). By evaluating this against a series
of criteria (e.g., strength of evidence of a
relationship to deployment), the group selected
three main behaviors to focus on risky driving,
tobacco use, and risky drinking. The most recent
meeting (Washington, DC, January 2009) focused
specifically on these behaviors, with attention
to three areas 1. Review of existing literature
on relationship with deployment, 2. Review on
emerging research by panel members and others on
these, and 3. More in-depth review of the
psychology and epidemiology of these
behaviors. The next meeting will synthesize these
findings into a coherent model of deployment and
health behaviors, with a particular focus on the
psychology of risk.
9

• HFM-RTG-179 Moral Dilemmas and Mental Health
  Problems
• Area Code HP UK6 Taxonomy Code
• Chair Verweij (NLD)
• Panel Mentor Wade (USA)
• Meeting Dates October 2009, Netherlands
• PfP Participation Open
• Classification NATO Unclassified
• Objectives
• Investigate, analyze, and describe the relation
  between the confrontation with moral dilemmas and
  mental health problems.
• Recommend good practices in coping with moral
  dilemmas, and develop awareness of tragic
  dilemmas (choosing between two negative
  alternatives).
• Advise on the development, creation, and
  implementation of moral dilemma
  training/education.

10

• HFM-RTG-179 Moral Dilemmas and Mental Health
  Problems
• Short Report Results presented (Toronto,
  Canada, June 2009) included
• Operational stress on 600 military personnel
  Royal Air Force (RAF)support helicopter aircrew,
  non-helicopter RAF personnel, helicopter front
  crew (pilots), rear crew (winchmen and
  loadmasters).The groups showed no statistically
  significant differencein general physical
  symptoms, depression, post-traumatic stress
  disorder, or alcohol misuse.
• Preliminary observations from interviewswith 24
  Dutch military participants in the International
  Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan
  resulted in the development of a tentative model
  of possible relationships between moral
  professionalism and mental health problems.

11

• Exploratory Teams
• HFM-ET-100 Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
• Objectives
• Review the available evidence regarding mild
  traumatic brain injury from blasts.
• Discuss the feasibility of coordinating research
  activities to study epidemiology, natural
  history, prevention, diagnostic modalities, and
  optimal treatment strategies.
• Consider establishing best practices for
  diagnosis and management of mild traumatic brain
  injury.
• HFM-ET-103 Suicide in Military
• Objective Identify relevant environmental and
  genetic factors that could be used for vulnerable
  personnel identification so that better
  prevention can be provided more selectively
  during and after stress exposure.
• HFM-ET-104 Mental Health Training
• Objective Identify military mental health
  training principles and skills.
• This exploratory team will link to RTG-179 (Moral
  Dilemmas) and ET-103 (Suicide in Military) to
  develop mental health training that will sustain
  service members throughout their military careers
  and prepare them for the rigors of military
  operations, including combat.

12

• Backup Slides

13
Current HFM Leadership
Chairman Bernd de Graaf, Ph.D. (NLD) Vice
Chairman Prof. Eric Fosse, M.D. (NOR) Panel
Executive Ron Verkerk, LTC RNLA (NLD)