A model for the assessment, care, and treatment of suicidal risk within the military intelligence community

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the development of a behavioral health and wellness model into the US Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) to address concerns about suicide within this community. In response to stresses existing within the intelligence community (IC), INSCOM partnered with the Army Public Health Center (APHC) to assess the health and wellbeing of Command personnel. A Community Health Assessment (CHA) survey was conducted (N = 2,704 Soldiers; N = 959 Civilians) that included focus groups across three installations and secondary source data. Six key areas were prioritized: suicide behavior, behavioral health access to care and health promotion, behavioral health stigma and maintaining clearances, workplace environment, sleep health, and overall fitness. Several actions were implemented to address the report’s findings and recommendations. A Command Surgeon office was established within INSCOM. An INSCOM Health Assessment and Readiness Team (I-HART) was established. The Deputy Undersecretary of the Army provided support to address suicide within INSCOM by approving 4 highly qualified experts (HQE’s) in behavioral health and clinical suicidology to provide research oversight and make recommendations. The Command General approved 8 behavioral health providers. There are planned research efforts within the command focusing on scalable and technology enabled care delivery to improve mental well-being and decrease suicides.

KEYWORDS:

• Suicide
• INSCOM
• community health assessment

Data availability statement

Due to legal restrictions and the sensitive nature which could result in adverse impact to United States Army and Civilian personnel and possible insurability and employability impacts, data cannot be made publicly available. Our organization requires establishment of data sharing agreements with institutions or investigators requesting the data collected from human volunteers. For questions about data, contact the Intelligence and Security Command Office of the Command Surgeon at [email protected].

Disclosure statement

Dr. Jobes discloses the following potential conflicts: Grant support for clinical trial research from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Institute of Mental Health: book royalties from American Psychological Association Press and Guilford Press; Founder and Partner of CAMS-care, LLC (a clinical training/consulting company). There is no other known conflict of interest to disclose.

Correction Statement

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the US Army, Intelligence and Security Command, Department of Defense, or the US Government. This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.