Military veterans deciding to access psychological support.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Deciding to access psychological support: A theoretical model for the decision-making process for military veterans.
IRAS ID
177663
Contact name
Natalie Skellon
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Liverpool
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 5 days
Research summary
Military personnel and military veterans are at high risk of developing mental health difficulties (Gredon et al, 2010), but only half of those affected by mental health difficulties seek support (Hoge et al, 2004; Iversen et al 2005). A large amount of research has focused on identifying factors that impact on military personnel and veterans accessing psychological support. However, to the researcher’s knowledge, previous research has not specifically focused on how military personnel or veterans decide to access psychological support. Therefore, this study aims to conduct semi-structured interviews with military veterans to explore how they made the decision to access psychological support. Specifically, the interviews will focus on exploring factors that contributed to and impacted upon their decision to access psychological support. Themes identified from the interviews will inform the development of a theoretical model that describes this process to help inform service development and mental health policy and potentially provide information to support other military personnel and veterans in similar circumstances. Highlighting the process that military veterans go through when deciding to access psychological support can provide information to support others going through this process and potentially facilitate them in accessing the support they require. Participants will engage in a semi-structured interview to explore how they made the decision to access psychological support. To aid the development of the model, participants will also be invited to take part in small focus groups (N=3) to provide their opinion on the developing model and also the completed model. The data gathering phase of this study will last up to six months. Participants will be recruited from the Military Veterans Service (Northwest).
REC name
West of Scotland REC 4
REC reference
15/WS/0188
Date of REC Opinion
28 Aug 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion