PTSD, stigma and barriers to help-seeking within the UK Armed Forces

Murphy, Dominic; Busuttil, Walter

doi:10.1136/jramc-2014-000344

Cited by 65 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 74 publications

(65 reference statements)

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“…Further, they were more likely to endorse barriers related to stigmatising beliefs than those related to practical access issues. This finding replicates similar research within military populations that reported a similar relationship [26,50,51]. …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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Mental Health Difficulties and Help-Seeking Beliefs within a Sample of Female Partners of UK Veterans Diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Murphy

Palmer

Busuttil

2016

JCM

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In the UK there is a paucity of research about the needs of partners who are supporting ex-service personnel with mental health difficulties. In this study, we surveyed the mental health needs and barriers to help-seeking within a sample of partners of UK veterans who had been diagnosed with PTSD. Our sample included 100 participants. Forty-five percent met criteria for alcohol problems, 39% for depression, 37% for generalised anxiety disorder and 17% for symptoms of probable PTSD. Participants who met case criteria for depression, anxiety and problems with alcohol were more likely to report a greater number of help-seeking barriers. Participants who were experiencing mental health difficulties were more likely to endorse barriers connected to stigmatising beliefs than those associated with practical issues around accessing mental health services. The evidence presented suggests there may be a considerable burden of mental illness within this population. It would seem prudent to conduct further work to understand how best to address this clinical need.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…In the UK veteran population only around 25% of those with probable PTSD report seeking help [26,27]. These rates are not dissimilar to the rates of those who screen positive for PTSD seeking helping in the UK general public, European samples and US samples [28,29,30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health Difficulties and Help-Seeking Beliefs within a Sample of Female Partners of UK Veterans Diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Murphy

Palmer

Busuttil

2016

JCM

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“…90% in the UK military), the latter of these is unsurprising [18]. Further, evidence has emerged suggesting that there are many barriers that prevent veterans from engaging in help-seeking behaviours [19,20,21]. The former differences suggest that veterans in this sample may have had a longer history of alcohol abuse that was not detrimental to their employment status.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Given that there is evidence to suggest that only approximately 20% of veterans seek help for mental health and alcohol problems [20], this sampling strategy gave a unique insight into the alcohol-related needs of a sample of veterans and non-veterans who may not otherwise have come to the attention of traditional substance misuse services. Including all referrals over an 18 month period should improve the generalisability of our findings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Alcohol Misuse, Service Utilisation, and Demographic Characteristics Differ between UK Veterans and Members of the General Public Attending an NHS General Hospital?

Murphy

Palmer

Westwood

et al. 2016

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The aim of this paper was to provide insights into alcohol misuse within UK veterans to inform as to whether their presentations differ from the general public. This was done by exploring differences in the severity of alcohol misuse between UK veterans and the general public admitted to a general NHS hospital over an 18 month period using retrospective data. All patients admitted to the hospital were screened for alcohol misuse. Those deemed as experiencing problems were referred for specialist nurse-led support. A total of 2331 individuals were referred for this supported and administered with a standardised assessment that included measures of the severity of alcohol difficulties (AUDIT), dependency levels (LDQ), and assessed for the presence of withdrawal symptoms (CIWA-Ar). In addition, information was collected on service utilisation, referral category (medical or mental health), other substance misuse, and demographic characteristics. No differences were found between the severity of reported alcohol difficulties between veterans and non-veterans. Evidence was found to suggest that veterans were more likely to be referred for support with alcohol difficulties at an older age and to be admitted to hospital for longer periods of time. This could have considerable cost implications for the NHS. It was more common for veterans to present at hospital with physical health difficulties prior to being referred for support for alcohol.

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“…The first are related to practical barriers to accessing help, for example, lack of knowledge about available service and feeling that non-military specialist services are inappropriate or won’t be able to meet their needs 13. The second category is related to perceived negative stigmatisation or discrimination that could result from the disclosure of a mental health difficulty 14. Worryingly, there seems to be evidence showing that individuals who are experiencing mental health difficulties are also more likely to report a greater number of stigma-related barriers to engaging in help than individuals without difficulties 15…”

Section: Barriers To Seeking Helpmentioning

confidence: 99%