Post-deployment screening in the Canadian military: Translating evaluation research into program recommendations

LAY SUMMARY Post-deployment screening is required among Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) service members returning from international deployments of 60 days or more. It was developed to aid service members who may have developed mental health issues. This screening is used to identify mental health issues soon after a member returns from deployment and to assist in early care provision, reducing care delays among members with a potential need. This article brings together key findings from an evaluation project that identified areas of the screening program that can be improved to benefit members. The evaluation project did identify some benefits to screening, indicating that it was mostly performing as expected. However, some unexpected findings were identified, and these findings highlight areas in which the screening program can be improved. These areas include improved communication on the importance of screening and everyone’s roles and responsibilities, monitoring screening completion, improved training for screening interviewers, and monitoring whether the member received the recommended follow-up care. This screening program is currently being updated, and the evaluation studies can provide some guidance to help with this update.

• Publication year

  2025

• Venue

  Journal of Military Veteran and Family Health

• Publication date

  2025-06-01

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.3138/jmvfh-2024-0038
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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