The National Center for Telehealth and Technology, the primary Department of Defense area which applies technology to psychological health, has developed an intriguing Android app, Positive Activity Jackpot. To help returning combat veterans adjust to unstructured time and the civilian world, it uses a behavioral therapy called ‘pleasant event scheduling.’ From an extensive list of pre-programmed activities, the user selects activities and friends to accompany them from their contacts, or lets the phone randomly choose them by “pulling the lever” from the application’s slot-machine screen. Mobile App Helps Troops Adjust to Life After Combat (Armed with Science)
For veterans who are recovering at home from injuries which make them dependent on caregivers, the VA will be piloting an iPad-based program called ‘Clinic-In-Hand’ starting in 2013. The apps will provide access to VA systems to allow the exchange of health-related data between the department, veterans and caregivers. 1,000 primary caregivers enrolled in VA’s Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers program will be randomly selected. VA to provide 1,000 iPads to family caregivers (NextGov)