Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Military Partners Through the Together Webinar Program: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Abstract

BackgroundDespite an increased risk of psychological difficulties, there remains a lack of evidence-based support for the mental health needs of military partners.ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate whether the Together Webinar Programme (TTP-Webinar), a 6-week structured, remote access group intervention would reduce military partners’ experience of common mental health difficulties and secondary trauma symptoms.MethodsA pilot randomized controlled trial was used to compare the TTP-Webinar intervention with a waitlist control. The sample was UK treatment-seeking veterans engaged in a mental health charity. A total of 196 military partners (1 male and 195 females; aged mean 42.28, SD 10.82 years) were randomly allocated to the intervention (n=97) or waitlist (n=99) condition. Outcome measures were self-reported measures of common mental health difficulties, secondary trauma symptoms, and overall quality of life rating.ResultsCompared with the waitlist, military partners in the TTP-Webinar had reduced common mental health difficulties (P=.02) and secondary trauma symptoms (P=.001). However, there was no difference in quality-of-life ratings (P=.06).ConclusionsThe results suggest that TTP-Webinar is an effective intervention to support the mental health difficulties of military partners. This study provides promising evidence that webinars may be an appropriate platform for providing group-based support.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT05013398; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05013398