Evaluation of HRV Biofeedback as a Resilience Building Intervention in the Reserve Component

Abstract

The specific aims of this study are to (1) develop a mobile app for use with the BART protocol; (2) examine the relationship between baseline heart rate variability (HRV) and resilience, mental health, substance use, stress and physical health measures; (3) examine how much military personnel with mental health symptoms have lower HRVs and resilience measures at baseline and change over time; (4) find out how having other mental health issues may affect the impact of HRV-BART on resilience, coping, and PTG scale scores. The study team will recruit 500 Reserve Component service members (RCSMs) through behavioral health providers and inactive duty training activities. RCSMs will be randomized to receive a 1.5-hour group introductory training in either HRV-BART or relaxation breathing alone and be assessed on baseline HRV and mental and physical health questionnaires. To date, we have received all IRB approvals, conducted a pilot test determining optimal data collection devices, have developed the software and other programming needed for the study, developed all recruitment materials, and begun data collection and tracking.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 2017
Accession Number
AD1045683

Entities

People

  • Greg Lewis
  • Laurel L Hourani
  • Maria Davila

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Application Software
  • Computer Programming
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Heart Rate
  • Improvised Explosive Devices
  • Institutional Review Board
  • Medical Personnel
  • Mental Health
  • Military Facilities
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Science
  • Mobile Application Software
  • Resilience
  • Smartphones
  • Students
  • Training

Readers

  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.