SynthesisJournal of health services research & policy2023
Enablers and barriers to military veterans seeking help for mental health and alcohol difficulties: A systematic review of the quantitative evidence.
Synthesis in Journal of health services research & policy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A rapid review of the barriers and facilitators of mental health service access among Veterans and their families.Frontiers in health services · 2024Pooled it
- Age differences in demographic and clinical characteristics among veterans with chronic low back pain: a cross-sectional study of baseline findings from the Veteran Response to Dosage in Chiropractic Therapy (VERDICT) trial.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2025Trial
- Effects of a mobile mindfulness smartphone app on posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and alcohol use problems for veterans: A pilot randomized controlled trial.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2025Trial
- Coping, Civilian Transition, and Gambling Harm Severity in UK Armed Forces Veterans.Journal of gambling studies · 2026Article
- Qualitative exploration of service users and social prescribing link workers of the Armed Forces Community social prescribing scheme in Cornwall.BMJ open quality · 2026Article
- Mechanisms and Clinical Implications of the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)-Cardiovascular Disease Link.Cureus · 2025Review
- The relationship between co-occurring traumatic experiences and co-occurring mental health domains for veterans resident in Northern Ireland.BMC psychology · 2024Article
- Lifetime trauma, mental well-being, alcohol and help-seeking; the phenomenological experience of veterans residing in Northern Ireland.BMC psychology · 2024Article
- Veterans in crisis: Describing the complexity of presentations to a mainstream UK Veterans' mental health service.Journal of military, veteran and family health · 2024Article
- Study protocol for a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial to reduce risky drinking among service members and their partners.Contemporary clinical trials · 2023Article
- Suicide risk communication and intervention preferences for veterans and service members.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveResearch exploring the enablers and barriers that exist for military veterans seeking to address their poor mental health has produced ambiguous results. To identify the enablers and barriers correctly, this study systematically reviews the literature, including research that included alcohol and had a clearly defined veteran population.
methodsSix databases were searched. Inclusion criteria specified that empirical studies related to veterans that had ceased military service and were seeking help for poor mental health and/or alcohol difficulties. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme and AXIS appraisal tools were used to assess quality and bias. A narrative synthesis approach was adopted for analysis. From 2044 studies screened, 12 were included featuring 5501 participants.
resultsForty-four enablers and barriers were identified, with thirty-two being statistically significant. Post-traumatic stress disorder had the greatest number of enabler/barrier endorsements to veterans seeking help. Depression, anxiety, experience and attitudes also acted as enablers/barriers. Most studies were of fair methodological quality. Limitations included that samples were skewed towards US army veterans. Little research exists concerning those that have ceased military service.
conclusionsVeteran help-seeking is likely enabled by poor mental health symptomology and comorbidity, which suggests veterans reach a crisis point before they seek help. Further research on alcohol misuse and attitude formation is required. The field would also benefit from alternative study designs including qualitative studies with non-US participants.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.