The 5 Ws of the New Defence Team Total Health and Wellness Strategy

March 4, 2022 - Defence Stories

With the launch of the new Defence Team Total Health and Wellness Strategy, the following clarifies this new strategy, how it will improve our workplace, help you find a balance between your work life, personal life, and individual health, and why it matters to you:

Who? This strategy applies to the entire Defence Team, including military members (Regular Force and Reserve Force) and their families, DND public service employees, and all others who play an important role in achieving our Defence objectives (e.g., Non-public funds employees and contractors).

Why? With the growing number of programs and services available for both military members and public service employees, it is important to align and coordinate all health and wellness efforts, with the ultimate goal of improving the health and wellness of all Defence Team members. By ensuring resources are focused on improving conditions for staff, the THWS presents a smart, more efficient way to care for our people.

The strategy provides a framework that helps to identify the multiple links between our professional and personal lives, and how they interact and influence our ability to balance the demands of home and work. The strategy serves as the foundational document to address the major commitments to the health and wellness of the Defence Team outlined in Strong Secure, Engaged.

The THWS aligns existing strategies and programs, and identifies new areas of focus where gaps exist. More broadly, it emphasizes our collective role in creating the necessary conditions for a healthy and supportive work environment.

What? Think of this strategy as a holistic health and wellness umbrella, and under it you will find all of the DND/CAF health and wellness programs and services. Through the strategy, DND and the CAF is investing over $950 million in new health and wellness program elements as well as make existing programs and services that care for the Defence Team’s workplace, individual, and familial health and well-being more widely available and accessible.

Some examples of how Defence Team members will benefit from the short- and long-term objectives set out in the strategy, include:

• Expanding Military Family Resource Centres to ensure military families – “the strength behind the uniform” - have support when and where required. CAF members and their families can expect to see:
  • reduced wait times for mental health services;
  • improved family access to tele-medicine services and childcare requests; and
  • increased access to counselling services.
• Providing enhanced health care to CAF members throughout their recovery process from an illness or injury, in support of their return to work or transition process, by staffing:
  • 30 additional occupational therapists to develop and provide evidence-based physical and mental rehabilitation programs; and
  • 48 additional nurse case managers to deliver healthcare coordination and support to CAF members with complex needs.
• Expanding the Office of Disability Management (accessible only on the National Defence network) by offering personalized support services to injured, ill or impaired public service employees of all Level One and command organizations through the establishment of additional regional offices, providing the required capacity to maintain a healthy workforce.
• Augmenting Base/Wing/Unit fitness programming in support of BALANCE, the CAF’s Physical Performance Strategy, 44 new staff were hired, with 18 of these positions providing direct support to the 310 Reserve units dispersed across the country.
• Introducing the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Centre of Expertise as a key enabler to effectively prevent, report, respond to, and support victims of workplace harassment and violence occurrences involving public service employees within the Defence Team. This new office is designed to provide clarity, strategic centralization, and subject matter expertise in a field that is often complex and extremely stressful for those concerned.
• Prioritizing women’s health by implementing the Women’s Health Framework which will:
  
  • increase knowledge regarding everyday and long-term health for women;
  • optimize preventive medicine for women;
  • support women’s health care in the military context; and
  • enhance women’s occupational performance.

There will be opportunities for continuous improvement and adjustments to best meet the health and wellness needs of the Defence Team and we’ll be sure to let you know about them throughout the implementation of the THWS.

When? Starting now, all current and future health and wellness programs and services will be considered as part of the THWS framework. But this is just the beginning. The THWS is a long-term strategy and its benefits will be realized over several years.

Where? At home or abroad, this strategy captures all health and wellness programs and services that are available to Defence Team members, no matter where they live or where they are working. You can read the strategy and for more information you are encouraged to visit the Total Health and Wellness Strategy web page. 

How? Through teamwork. While leadership bears a particular responsibility for improving the workplace and being the agents of change, together, we need to prioritize wellness in order to create a healthy workplace that supports diversity and is free of hateful conduct, racism, harassment, and sexual misconduct.

Our ongoing efforts to change our culture are crucial as we work to make the DND/CAF a modern, forward-looking organization where people are welcomed, feel safe in their workplace, and are judged solely on their competence and contribution to Canada’s defence goals.

To read the strategy and for more information, visit the Total Health and Wellness Strategy web page.