Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 May;59(5):827-837.
doi: 10.1007/s00127-023-02567-0. Epub 2023 Oct 19.

Gender differences in structural and attitudinal barriers to mental healthcare in UK Armed Forces personnel and veterans with self-reported mental health problems

Nora Trompeter  1 , Laura Rafferty  2 , Daniel Dyball  2 , Amber McKenzie  2 , Neil Greenberg  2 , Nicola T Fear  2   3 , Sharon A M Stevelink  2
Affiliations

Gender differences in structural and attitudinal barriers to mental healthcare in UK Armed Forces personnel and veterans with self-reported mental health problems

Nora Trompeter et al. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2024 May.

Abstract

Purpose: Structural and attitudinal barriers often hinder treatment-seeking for mental health problems among members of the Armed Forces. However, little is known about potential gender differences in structural and attitudinal barriers among members of the UK Armed Forces. The current study aimed to explore how men and women differ in terms of these barriers to care among a sample of UK Armed Forces personnel and veterans with self-reported mental health problems.

Methods: Currently serving and ex-serving members of the UK Armed Forces who self-reported a mental health problem were invited to participate in a semi-structured phone interview on mental health and treatment-seeking. The final sample included 1448 participants (1229 men and 219 women). All participants reported on their current mental health, public stigma, self-stigma, and barriers to mental healthcare.

Results: Overall, men and women reported similar levels of both structural and attitudinal barriers, with no significant differences detected. The highest scores for both men and women were observed in attitudinal barriers relating to self-stigma domains, which encapsulate internalised attitudes and beliefs about mental illness and treatment.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that anti-stigma campaigns can be targeted simultaneously at both men and women within the Armed Forces. In particular, targeting self-stigma may be beneficial for health promotion campaigns.

Keywords: Barriers to care; Gender differences; Mental health problems; Military personnel; Stigma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

A.M. is funded by The Colt Foundation. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of The Colt Foundation. NG runs March on Stress Ltd which is a psychological health consultancy that provides some mental health training interventions for UK police forces. He is also the Royal College of Psychiatrists lead for trauma and the military. NTF reports grants from the UK MoD and Office for Veterans’ Affairs (Cabinet Office), is a trustee (unpaid) of Help for Heroes, is a member of the Emergency Responders Senior Leaders Board, the Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation, and is an independent advisor to the Independent Group Advising NHS Digital on the Release of patient Data (IGARD). S.A.M. Stevelink is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the National Institute for Health and Care Research, NIHR Advanced Fellowship, Dr Sharon Stevelink, NIHR300592.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Gender differences in individual access to care barriers. Percentages on the left and right-hand sides are combined percentages for the disagree/strongly disagree and agree/strongly agree categories. *p < 0.01
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Gender differences in individual public stigma regarding treatment. Percentages on the left and right-hand sides are combined percentages for the disagree/strongly disagree and agree/strongly agree categories. *p < 0.01
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Gender differences in self-stigma regarding treatment. Percentages on the left and right-hand sides are combined percentages for the disagree/strongly disagree and agree/strongly agree categories
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Gender differences in self-stigma regarding mental health problems. Percentages on the left and right-hand sides are combined percentages for the disagree/strongly disagree and agree/strongly agree categories
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Hom MA, Stanley IH, Schneider ME, Joiner TE. A systematic review of help-seeking and mental health service utilization among military service members. Clin Psychol Rev. 2017;53:59–78. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2017.01.008. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Randles R, Finnegan A. Veteran help-seeking behaviour for mental health issues : a systematic review. BMJ Mil Health. 2022;168(1):99–104. doi: 10.1136/bmjmilitary-2021-001903. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Iversen AC, et al. The stigma of mental health problems and other barriers to care in the UK Armed Forces. BMC Health Serv Res. 2011;11(1):31. doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-11-31. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Godier-McBard LR, Wood A, Kohomange M, Cable G, Fossey M. Barriers and facilitators to mental healthcare for women veterans: a scoping review. J Mental Health. 2022 doi: 10.1080/09638237.2022.2118686. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Link BG and Phelan JC (2001) Conceptualizing Stigma. Annu Rev Sociol 27:363–385. Available: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2678626

Publication types

MeSH terms