WASHINGTON—A digital health educational resource for military members launched a mobile site in May to improve access, and statistics show the site’s traffic is growing steadily.
Since the Real Warriors Campaign launched m.realwarriors.net, 21 percent of people accessing Real Warriors do so through the mobile site. That percentage – updated as of Aug. 2 – is 8 percentage points higher than it was just two weeks ago.
Staff Sgt. Meg Krause, an Army medic who credits the Real Warriors Campaign with helping her overcome alcohol abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, says the new mobile site brings medical help to within pocket reach.
“It’s one thing to give someone a website and say check it out when you get home, and it’s another thing to say, pull out your phone, look at what they’re doing right now,” Krause said.
Overall, there have been 3,113 visits to the mobile site domain, which users access on a smart mobile device.
A screenshot of the Real Warriors Mobile site description (Bob Spoerl/MNS).
The Real Warriors Campaign, started in May 2009, is an online – and now mobile — collection of articles, videos, brochures and links to help military members and families struggling to overcome mental health problems. Health consultants with the campaign are available 24-hour a day, seven days a week to answer live chat questions and toll-free phone calls. The mobile site also includes a page for health care providers who serve military personnel.
“There’s no excuse for someone not knowing how to get in touch with us right now,” Krause said.
The Veterans Affairs Department and the Defense Department fund Real Warriors as part of the Defense Centers of Excellence, launched in 2007, which seeks to provide more thorough health care for military personnel from enrollment to veteran status. According to Veterans Affairs, 1.2 million veterans receive mental health care.
Krause, one of more than a dozen troops featured in Real Warriors video clips, candidly discusses her post-Iraq mental health issues on the mobile site. She credits her commanders and fellow soldiers with supporting her in her struggles.
While Krause is ready to share her story for a wider audience, others who use the Real Warriors free mobile app or mobile site keep their identity anonymous. That’s to protect the privacy of the users.
The Real Warriors Campaign has a Twitter account, Facebook page and a mobile subscriber list. The mobile version works on most devices, including Android and Blackberry smartphones as well as iPhones; a Pew Research Center study shows 35 percent of American adults own a smartphone. Users wishing to access the mobile site on an iPad are automatically directed to the non-mobile version.