Veteran help-seeking behaviour for mental health issues: a systematic review
Introduction
Serving military personnel and veterans have been identified to have a high prevalence of mental health disorders. Despite this, only a significantly small number seek mental healthcare. With the UK beginning to invest further support to the armed forces community, identification of barriers and facilitators of help-seeking behaviour is needed.
Methods
Corresponding literature search was conducted in PsycINFO, PsycArticles, Medline, Web of Science and EBSCO. Articles which discussed barriers and facilitators of seeking help for mental health concerns in the veteran population were included. Those which discussed serving personnel or physical problems were not included within this review. A total of 26 papers were analysed.
Results
A number of barriers and facilitators of help-seeking for a mental health issue within the veteran population were identified. Barriers included stigma, military culture of stoicism and self-reliance, as well as deployment characteristics of combat exposure and different warzone deployments. Health service difficulties such as access and lack of understanding by civilian staff were also identified. Facilitators to help combat these barriers included a campaign to dispel the stigma, including involvement of veterans and training of military personnel, as well as more accessibility and understanding from healthcare staff.
Conclusions
While some barriers and facilitators have been identified, much of this research has been conducted within the USA and on male veterans and lacks longitudinal evidence. Further research is needed within the context of other nations and female veterans and to further indicate the facilitators of help-seeking among veterans.
Top-30
Journals
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Journal of Military Veteran and Family Health
9 publications, 12.5%
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BMJ Military Health
9 publications, 12.5%
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European Journal of Psychotraumatology
3 publications, 4.17%
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European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation
3 publications, 4.17%
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BMJ Open
2 publications, 2.78%
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Journal of Mental Health
1 publication, 1.39%
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Criminal Justice Review
1 publication, 1.39%
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Nurse Education Today
1 publication, 1.39%
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Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications
1 publication, 1.39%
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International Journal of the Legal Profession
1 publication, 1.39%
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Health and Social Care in the Community
1 publication, 1.39%
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Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
1 publication, 1.39%
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Advances in Applied Sociology
1 publication, 1.39%
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Armed Forces and Society
1 publication, 1.39%
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PLoS Medicine
1 publication, 1.39%
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BJPsych Open
1 publication, 1.39%
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JMIR Medical Education
1 publication, 1.39%
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PLoS ONE
1 publication, 1.39%
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Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research
1 publication, 1.39%
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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
1 publication, 1.39%
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Frontiers in Public Health
1 publication, 1.39%
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International Journal of Art Therapy: Inscape
1 publication, 1.39%
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Health Services Research
1 publication, 1.39%
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Mental Health Practice
1 publication, 1.39%
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Psychiatric Quarterly
1 publication, 1.39%
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Frontiers in Health Services
1 publication, 1.39%
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Primary Health Care
1 publication, 1.39%
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Mental Health and Physical Activity
1 publication, 1.39%
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Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing
1 publication, 1.39%
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Publishers
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BMJ
12 publications, 16.67%
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Elsevier
10 publications, 13.89%
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University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress)
9 publications, 12.5%
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Taylor & Francis
7 publications, 9.72%
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Wiley
6 publications, 8.33%
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Springer Nature
6 publications, 8.33%
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SAGE
3 publications, 4.17%
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Frontiers Media S.A.
3 publications, 4.17%
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2 publications, 2.78%
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Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
2 publications, 2.78%
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JMIR Publications
2 publications, 2.78%
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RCNi
2 publications, 2.78%
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Oxford University Press
2 publications, 2.78%
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European Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS)
1 publication, 1.39%
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Scientific Research Publishing
1 publication, 1.39%
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Cambridge University Press
1 publication, 1.39%
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Mark Allen Group
1 publication, 1.39%
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MDPI
1 publication, 1.39%
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American Psychiatric Association Publishing
1 publication, 1.39%
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- We do not take into account publications without a DOI.
- Statistics recalculated weekly.