On this page you can find our regularly published news articles, providing digestible updates and insights about current research, evidence gaps, topics of importance, and experts across the Armed Forces community sector. We publish three types of news article. News Features provide overviews and synopses of available evidence on topical areas of importance. Research Spotlights provide lay summaries of recently published research and evidence. Meet the Expert articles introduce experts working across the Armed Forces community in research, policy, or practice.
Recent research1 from the ADVANCE study explored sleep health and found that patterns of symptoms indicative of moderate-severe sleep problems were more likely to be reported by UK personnel who susta…
Welcome to 'New Study Spotlight', where we interview researchers about their new studies to raise awareness and keep you up to date with current research focused on the Armed Forces community. Read …
Approximately 15,000 individuals leave the Armed Forces each year, with most undergoing a positive transition. However, a minority of ex-Service personnel face adverse outcomes, including unemploym…
Mental health problems among ex-Service personnel are often complex, with many experiencing more than one condition at the same time. The latest version of the International Classification of Diseases…
Welcome to 'Meet the Expert', our news series that brings you informative interviews with Armed Forces researchers, policy makers, and service providers. Read on to learn about current work, aspiratio…
Welcome to 'Meet the Expert', our news series that brings you informative interviews with Armed Forces researchers, policy makers, and service providers. Read on to learn about current work, aspiratio…
Across the Armed Forces sector the term ‘moral injury’ is likely a familiar one, especially when thinking about ex-service personnel’ mental health. While moral injury is not a mental health dia…
In July 2021, the Atherton Report [1]– officially titled “Protecting Those Who Protect Us: Women in the Armed Forces from Recruitment to Civilian Life” – was published by the House of Commons …
Identity is central to how we understand ourselves and our place in the world. Among those who serve in the Armed Forces, this sense of self is often strongly linked to the unique factors of Service l…
Welcome to 'New Study Spotlight', where we interview researchers about their new studies to raise awareness and keep you up to date with current research focused on the Armed Forces community. Read on…
Welcome to a special edition of 'Meet the Expert', our series bringing you informative interviews with Armed Forces researchers, policymakers, and service providers. This special edition features a Ph…
A new study by the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH) based at the University of Manchester, shows the most common risk factors for suicide experienced by…
Women have a long and proud tradition of serving in the UK Armed Forces (AF). Over the years, opportunities for women in the UK AF have expanded, with all combat roles open to them since 2018. The UK …
Welcome to a special edition of 'Meet the Expert' featuring a member of the Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community team. This series brings you informative interviews with Armed Forces res…
Welcome to 'New Study Spotlight', where we interview researchers about their new studies to raise awareness and keep you up to date with current research focused on the Armed Forces community. Read on…
“I do not hope our country needs to go to war, but as a professional soldier, I want to be there if it does.”
This quote, often repeated in military circles, reflects an important insight emergi…
Combat Stress recently conducted a review of the published research exploring which psychological treatments have the strongest evidence base for treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) resulti…
Welcome to 'Meet the Expert', our series bringing you informative interviews with Armed Forces researchers, policy makers and service providers. Read on to learn about current work, aspirations for pr…
Eating disorders (EDs), are a serious mental health condition, that can impact anyone regardless of age, background, or circumstances [1]. According to Beat, the nation’s leading eating disorder cha…
KCMHR 20-year study finds rises in CMD and PTSD in Serving and ex-Serving personnel who served during the conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The findings from the fourth phase of the King’s Centre…
Background Social care in the UK has long been considered the poor relation of NHS-provided healthcare, comparatively neglected in terms of the attention, priority, and state funding it receives [1], …
In recent years, emerging evidence has highlighted that those who leave the Armed Forces prior to completing the minimum term of their contract (i.e., under four years) – known as Early Service Leav…
As highlighted in a recent workshop hosted by the Royal British Legion, the needs of military children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is emerging as an important area for under…
New research from Cranfield University, led by Dr Robert Allen, draws on a large sample of medically diagnosed Neurodivergent Veterans (NDVs) to determine how the recruitment processes and Human Resou…
Welcome to 'Meet the Expert', our series bringing you informative interviews with Armed Forces researchers, policy makers and service providers. Read on to learn about current work, aspirations for pr…
At the end of 2023, 13.6% of the 1.85 million United Kingdom (UK) Armed Forces ex-Service personnel were women. Despite this, only a few more than 50 research papers on military health and well-being …
Welcome to a special edition of our regular 'Meet the Expert' series, bringing you informative interviews with Armed Forces researchers, policy makers and service providers. In this edition, we inte…
Welcome to 'Meet the Expert', our series bringing you informative interviews with Armed Forces researchers, policy makers and service providers. Read on to learn about current work, aspirations for pr…
The 'Mental Readiness for Military Transition Scale (MT-Ready)' is a newly developed questionnaire that aims to capture the likelihood someone will transition well after military discharge. The scale…
Welcome to a special edition of 'Meet the Expert' featuring a member of the Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community team. This series brings you informative interviews with Armed Forces res…
For the first time in its history, the most recent Census asked individuals to record whether they had ever served in the UK Armed Forces. Of the 1.85 million ex-Armed Forces respondents, older Vetera…
Welcome to a special edition of 'Meet the Expert', our series bringing you informative interviews with Armed Forces researchers, policymakers and service providers. In this edition, we will be featuri…
Welcome to 'Meet the Expert', our series bringing you informative interviews with Armed Forces researchers, policy makers and service providers. Read on to learn about current work, aspirations for pr…
From 1967 to 2000, a policy banned LGBT people from joining or continuing Service in the UK Armed Forces. Anyone suspected of being LGBT could be subjected to invasive investigations and discharge fro…
A new study (“Suicide after leaving the UK Armed Forces 1996–2018: a cohort study”) by the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH), based at The University…
