“For those who serve” app collection provides mobile resources for Veterans

In honor of Veterans Day, several VA mobile apps are featured this week in the Apple App Store. In the “For Those Who Serve” collection of resources, Veterans can find the latest military news, essential health and wellness information, and other valuable tools for everyday life.

The highlighted VA apps are designed to help Veterans manage their physical and mental health. They are part of a larger suite of VA apps that connect Veterans to essential resources and expand care outside of the VA Medical Center.

Some of the featured VA apps include:

• PTSD Coach – This app connects users to tools for managing post-traumatic stress symptoms. It supports Servicemembers and Veterans with self-assessments, symptom-tracking capabilities, educational materials and stress coping skills.

• MOVE! Coach – This app is a 19-week weight loss program for Veterans, Servicemembers, their families, and others who want to lose weight. The app helps participants track and receive feedback on their progress with weight, diet and exercise goals.

• Moving Forward – This app allows users to access on-the-go tools and learn problem solving skills to overcome obstacles and deal with stress. While this app was designed for Veterans and Servicemembers, it can be used by anyone.

• Stay Quit Coach – This app provides information about smoking cessation, along with motivational messages, interactive tools and support contacts to help users stay smoke-free and cope with urges to smoke.

• Mindfulness Coach – This app leads the user through steps to learn how to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness means grounding yourself in the present moment. It has been shown to be helpful for reducing stress and helping people cope with unpleasant thoughts and emotions.

In addition to these featured apps, VA has many other apps designed specifically for Veterans in the Apple App and Google Play stores. The VA App Store is an expanding VA web portal that provides direct access to nearly 20 web and mobile apps to extend clinical care beyond a traditional office visit and allow Veterans to be active participants in their care. The VA App Store also features a series of training materials and videos to help Veterans easily navigate the apps.

Many more VA apps are in development that will support Veterans and their families in managing their personal health care. The additional apps will start being available in 2017, so check back often to see how we are expanding the VA Mobile program.