Treating co-occurring alcohol use disorders and common mental disorders in Veterans

This project aims to conduct a realist review and synthesis of evidence on the efficacy of interventions for co-occurring alcohol use disorders (AMD's) and common mental disorders (CMD's) for military/Veteran populations and qualitatively explore Veterans' experiences of treatment services. Additionally, it seeks to quantitatively identify and compare the level of adherence to treatment services and treatment outcomes for Veterans with CMD only or co-occurring CMD and AUD and identify the most common treatment pathways for Veterans with co-occurring CMD and AUD. This includes identifying examples of best practice, and recommendations for improving engagement. The team will also organise public engagement activities and produce an evidence-based report of recommendations for services, and health promotion materials for Veterans. 

• How effective are treatment models (serial, parallel, integrated) for co-occurring AUDs and CMDs in military/Veteran populations, and what are the mechanisms by which an intervention works or not?
• What are the barriers/facilitators to treatment/engagement; what are Veterans' experiences of the different treatment models and how do they relate to longer-term outcomes?
• How do levels of adherence to treatment services and treatment outcomes differ for Veterans who meet criteria for CMD only versus those who meet criteria for co-occurring CMD and AUD?
• From a service provider perspective, what are the most common treatment pathways; what are potential barriers/facilitators to access/engagement; and what are the examples of best practice?

• In WP2 N~36 to be recruited for telephone interviews.
• In WP3 N~7600 from Pennine Care NHS Military Veterans' Service dataset.
• In WP4 N~48 to be recruited for focus groups and Delphi study.