Funding awarded from the Veterans' Medical Research Trust Fund

New Zealand Veterans’ vulnerability to alcohol misuse

Amount Awarded: $166,432 excl GST

Duration: 12–18 months

Summary

The research seeks to understand whether veterans (and their whānau) returning to a less regimented civilian life are more vulnerable than the general population to the deleterious effects of alcohol, which has been linked to issues with mental health and social adjustment.

Results

This project provided an understanding of the contributing factors and effects of alcohol use for NZ veterans and their whānau. Incorporating the findings of this research in intervention programs could serve to mitigate the negative effects of alcohol misuse on mental, physical, and social health outcomes. This could inform solutions that address alcohol harm reduction alongside the personal, familial, and social aspects of veteran health.

New Zealand Veterans' Vulnerabilty to Alcohol Misuse [PDF, 846 KB]

VeCHAT: Proof of concept study on screening, managing, and monitoring veterans’ health and wellbeing

Amount awarded: $99,530

Research duration: 24 months

Summary

The research aimed to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and utility of VeCHAT, an electronic Case-finding and Help Assessment Tool that has been modified for use with contemporary NZ veterans. VeCHAT is a self-completed electronic holistic screening tool for substance misuse, gambling, anger control, physical inactivity, depression, anxiety, exposure to abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and includes an assessment of whether help is wanted.

The research aimed to:

• assess the acceptability, feasibility and utility of VeCHAT
• gain NZ-specific data on the prevalence of mental health issues and lifestyle risk factors in the NZ contemporary veteran population
• inform future service delivery and policy.

Results

Data suggested VeCHAT is an acceptable and feasible tool with a lot of potential. However, due to the small take-up by the veteran community, more work is needed to assess the implication of using VeCHAT with a greater number of veterans and investigate how larger numbers might influence Veterans' Affairs case management processes.

VeCHAT original research paper(external link)

The psychological and physical health and wellbeing of New Zealand contemporary veterans (those who served during and since the Gulf War)

Amount awarded: $117,323

Research duration: 18 months

Summary

The research aimed to:

• describe the risk and protective factors for veterans’ health and wellbeing
• define the “at risk” veteran profile through a screening instrument
• develop community support mechanisms to minimise a veteran’s risk of chronic health problems
• develop an epidemiological case definition of multi-system illnesses.

Results

1,817 military personnel completed a military version of a post-traumatic stress disorder checklist. These scores varied between under 30 and over 45. Factors associated with the higher scores were trauma exposure, older age, male and Māori ethnicity, whilst factors associated with the lower scores were greater length of service, psychological flexibility, and better sleep quality.

Risk and protective factors for post-traumatic stress among New Zealand military personnel: A cross-sectional study research article(external link)