press releases
Contrast Creative Innovates Web-Based Training Program for US Army
01.05.09
About 15% to 20% of U.S. soldiers in Iraq have signs of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, and about 30% of soldiers on their third or fourth tours have experienced emotional illnesses, according to a 2008 Army study. In an effort to assist soldiers, the Army created the RESPECT-Mil program that aims to train Army medical personnel on how to identify and treat post-deployment soldiers who are experiencing PTSD and depression.
Contrast Creative, a Cary, North Carolina communications firm is assisting the Army in this vital effort by creating innovative web-based training courses, and a RESPECT-Mil website. Contrast also produced printed support collateral for the training program. These pieces—some targeted to patients and families, with others specifically tailored to medical professionals— ensured a comprehensive educational package.
“We were honored to be such an integral part of a program that truly makes a difference in soldiers’ lives,” says Eileen Gilmer, Contrast’s project manager for the RESPECT-Mil program. “It’s tragic how many soldiers were slipping through the cracks. Their symptoms were misdiagnosed and in many cases, soldiers returned to active duty with PTSD or depression. Respect-Mil hopes to change that.”
Contrast created a Depression web-based training program along with another training module focused on PTSD. These programs teach Army medical personnel with varying degrees of medical training how to easily and quickly recognize and treat post-deployment soldiers.
The web-based educational modules included interviews with the Army Surgeon General, Primary Care Clinicians already involved with the REPECT-Mil program, and soldiers who have benefited from RESPECT-Mil. The soldier stories offered a compelling first-person account of the issues facing returning service personnel. Role plays, depicting both correct and incorrect physician/soldier interactions, were created as educational segments for the trainings.
Medical personnel taking the web-based trainings are tested on their knowledge throughout the course. The results are tracked and documented. “The results of our web training videos, manuals, brochures and other printed material have resulted in compliment after compliment from our audience,” saysDaniel BullisDeputy Director, Administration/Operations Deployment Health Clinical CenterMedical Command, Walter Reed Army Hospital. “[The Contrast Team] guided us through a process that that been highlighted with creativeness, professionalism, and a quest for excellence seldom seen in today’s busy environment.”
Released in late 2008, The U.S. Army MEDCOM (Medical Command) has since mandated that all Army medical personnel worldwide take and pass the RESPECT-Mil training courses. In the fall of 2009, Contrast Creative is expected to begin work on a second phase of the training.
To learn more about the Respect-Mil program and to see the newly designed website, please visit http://www.pdhealth.mil/respect-mil/index.asp.