Rationale and Methodology of the 2018 Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-up Survey (CAFVMHS).., Afifi et al, 2021

[Andy]

Full title: Rationale and Methodology of the 2018 Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-up Survey (CAFVMHS): A 16-year Follow-up Survey

Objective:
Knowledge is limited regarding the longitudinal course and predictors of mental health problems, suicide, and physical health outcomes among military and veterans. Statistics Canada, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Manitoba and an international team, conducted the Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-Up Survey (CAFVMHS). Herein, we describe the rationale and methods of this important survey.

Method:
The CAFVMHS is a longitudinal survey design with 2 time points (2002 and 2018). Regular Force military personnel who participated in the first Canadian Community Health Survey Cycle 1.2—Mental Health and Well-Being, Canadian Forces Supplement (CCHS-CFS) in 2002 (N = 5,155) were reinterviewed in 2018 (n = 2,941). The World Mental Health Survey–Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) criteria.

Results:
The CAFVMHS includes 2,941 respondents (66% veterans; 34% active duty) and includes data on mental disorder diagnoses, physical health conditions, substance use, medication use, general health, mental health services, perceived need for care, social support, moral injury, deployment experiences, stress, physical activity, military-related sexual assault, childhood experiences, and military and sociodemographic information.

Conclusions:
The CAFVMHS provides a unique opportunity to further understand the health and well-being of military personnel in Canada over time to inform intervention and prevention strategies and improve outcomes. The data are available through the Statistics Canada Research Data Centres across Canada and can be used cross-sectionally or be longitudinally linked to the 2002 CCHS-CFS data.

Open access, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0706743720974837

General health and chronic conditions
Several indicators of general health were assessed in the CAFVMHS such as self-perceived mental and physical health, sleep, and adjustment to civilian life. Several chronic conditions were also assessed using self-reported data asking about long-term health conditions, which were expected to last or have already lasted 6 months or more and have been diagnosed by a health professional. These chronic conditions included asthma; chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; arthritis; back problems; high cholesterol; high blood pressure; heart disease; stroke; diabetes; chronic fatigue syndrome; intestinal or stomach ulcers; irritable bowel syndrome; inflammatory bowel disease; migraine headaches; traumatic brain injury or concussion; cancer; epilepsy; multiple sclerosis; chronic liver disease; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; obsessive-compulsive disorder; mania and bipolar disorder; and personality disorder.

I've not looked at how times CFS was reported.

 

[alktipping]

thing to consider personnel on active duty are highly unlikely to fill in a mental health questionaire truthfully because of consequences would you trust a depressed member of your team with a loaded weapon ?.