Public understanding of mild traumatic brain injury in the British military

Objectives: To determine public perception of: 1) mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) amongst British service personnel; and 2 (veteran healthcare). Methods: The study was posted online and participants were also recruited offline from town councils, public libraries, religious organisations, social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Twelve questions of public perceptions of mild traumatic brain injury and veteran healthcare were presented after a vignette on a service personnel’s account of mild traumatic brain injury. The responses were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Three themes were identified. The right to quality healthcare, awareness or lack thereof of the injury, and empathy towards the experiences of service personnel with mTBI. Members of the public have a firm opinion that veterans have a right to healthcare. Their service to their nation warrants proper treatment. There is empathy towards service personnel with the injury. However there is little awareness as to the nature of mTBI and the full extent of its impact on the lives of service personnel. Respondents cited that this might be due to the issue being low on the political agenda. Conclusion: Participants indicated that they had not previously given thought to the injury or had not heard about it previously. Most respondents were also not familiar with the services available to veterans with the injury. Empathising with the experiences while at the same time recognising the extent of their ability to render support for service personnel with the injury seemed to resonant. More public awareness campaigns on the extent of the injury and what the injury entails would ensure greater understanding of service personnel with the injury