MARCH 15, 2024 – The Defense Department is now fielding the 2024 Health Related Behaviors Survey to nearly 250,000 randomly selected active-duty service members.
The deadline for completion is May 3.
This year’s survey includes questions about mental and physical health, substance use, and other health topics related to service member readiness.
“The survey is the department’s flagship survey for understanding health, health-related behaviors, and well-being of service members, allowing leaders to better understand the readiness of the force,” said Navy Capt. Kenneth Richter, director of psychological health for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. “Increased participation by service members helps develop conclusions that better represent the overall population of the DOD.”
Survey answers are confidential, and a participant’s responses are not shared with the department or service branches in a way that can identify them, he said.
“Some of the major findings from the 2018 survey showed an increase from the 2015 survey in reports of health-related behaviors that are associated with poor outcomes. However, service members’ self-reported behaviors appeared [at] or above general population benchmarks set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for physical health and functioning, including rates of obesity, frequency of exercise and high-risk group HIV testing,” Richter said.
Since 1980, DOD has partnered with third-party survey assessors to gauge health-related trends within the force. Typically offered every two or three years, the survey has evolved from focusing strictly on substance use and abuse to a broader look at service member health and well-being, Richter said.
Daniel Evatt, the chief of the research execution section at the Defense Health Agency’s Psychological Health Center of Excellence, also emphasized the importance of the survey in understanding the health of the force.
“If members of a particular occupation or demographic group don’t have a high rate of response, then we may not have a very good understanding of the needs of that group,” Evatt said. “If you are invited to respond, then your answers will help make sure that we understand experiences of service members like you.”
“The final results [of the survey] are read and used by policy makers, program managers and researchers, and they can help us direct care where it is needed most,” Evatt said. “Sometimes the findings tell us that a behavior issue is more or less common than previously thought.”
Sailors walk in formation aboard a ship under a dark, cloudy sky as spotlights illuminate the background with green and orange lights.
If selected to participate, service members will receive an email with a link to their military email addresses recorded in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System.
DOD has partnered with the RAND Corp., a private research and analysis company, to conduct the survey. Recipients will receive an email from 2024hrbs.com with a survey control number and a link to the welcome page.
For more information and an extensive FAQ on the purpose of the survey, recipients can visit health.mil/HRBS.
By Dave Vergun , DOD News