The Well-Ahead Study: An intervention to optimise the wellbeing of female ex-serving military and former emergency services members

Skills fOr Life Adjustment and Resilience (SOLAR) is a brief, low intensity, psychosocial skills-based program developed as an early intervention strategy to prevent mild to moderate symptoms of psychological distress from developing into longer term psychological disorders. The adaptation of SOLAR for female ex-serving military and former emergency services members, will be delivered via a smartphone app. Participants will be expected to progress through the app at their own pace across five weeks, which includes psychoeducation (e.g., healthy diet), behavioural strategies (e.g., breathing exercises), and personalised goal setting via short videos and interactive activities. The intervention includes five modules (15 – 45 minutes each) on the following topics: • Healthy body and mind • Managing strong emotions • Coming to terms with difficult experiences and related troubling events • Improving range and quality of activities • Worry and rumination The app intervention will be supplemented by Facilitators. Upon commencement with the app, participants will be required to select a suitable time for their first Facilitator call. Facilitator calls will take between 5-15 minutes and will be offered weekly for the 5-week duration of the app, however, following the initial call, they are non-compulsory. Aside from facilitator calls and an email to the project team notifying completion of all modules, app adherence is not monitored. Facilitator support will include helping with technical aspects of progressing through the app and checking how participants are progressing with the in-app skill-building activities. Participants will be prompted to complete 10–25-minute surveys regarding their psychological symptoms prior to commencement of the app, immediately following completion, and then another three months later.