Overview of study:
This study aims to understand the long-term psychosocial and sexual impacts of conflict-related genital injury and intimate scarring to develop evidence-based psychosocial support. The project includes a literature review of existing international evidence, a quantitative and qualitative survey, and the development of evidence-based interventions. It is a collaborative research project between RAND Europe, Manchester Met University, King’s College London, and Combat Stress, supported by the Scar Free Foundation via funds from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. For more information on the study check out our study blog here.
Name and role:
Dr Mary Keeling – Co-Chief Investigator
Dr Mary Keeling is a Research Leader at RAND Europe, where her main role is Deputy Director of the Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community. Mary is a chartered psychologist and has worked in the area of military psychology since 2010 when she started her PhD at the King’s Centre for Military Health Research investigating the impact of deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan on romantic relationships. Since then, she has worked in the UK and US focussing on military to civilian transition; romantic relationships and military families; mental health and help-seeking; and the psychosocial impact of service-connected physical injuries.
Previously, Mary worked as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of the West of England, Bristol, investigating the psychosocial experiences of (ex) Service personnel with appearance altering injuries [1]. This research found preliminary evidence that genital injuries had long-term impacts on (ex) Service personnel and that their needs were unmet. As a result, Mary became one of the drivers for the current AFTER study with Dr Natalie Hammond conducting a pilot study exploring the psychosocial and sexual health outcomes, experiences and support needs of ex-Servicemen who sustained conflict-related genital injuries [2]. Furthermore, they assessed the feasibility of conducting further research on the topic which highlighted a need for a larger scale study.
Dr Natalie Hammond – Co-Chief Investigator
Dr Natalie Hammond is a Senior Lecturer in Health and Social Care at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her early work explored the sex industry including ideas around identity, masculinities and sexuality. Since then, her research has focussed on sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender-based violence; issues around gender, health and violence; and the intersections between climate, health, and violence. Having worked with a wide range of participants nationally and internationally including LGBTQ+ communities, families of prisoners, health and social care professionals, and ethnic minority communities, Natalie has recently expanded to work with military and veteran communities.
Professor Nicola Fear CBE – Co-Chief Investigator
Professor Nicola Fear CBE is a Professor of Epidemiology at King’s College London and holds the positions of Co-Director of the King’s Centre of Military Health Research (KCMHR) and the Centre of Evidence for the Armed Forces Community. Nicola is one of the Principal Investigators on the KCMHR cohort study, a long-term study investigating the health and wellbeing of UK military personnel who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan (refs). Furthermore, as part of the ongoing ArmeD SerVices TrAuma and RehabilitatioN OutComE (ADVANCE) study, she has explored the physical and psychosocial outcomes of battlefield casualties involving Service people with limb loss and injuries without limb loss.
Professor Dominic Murphy – Co-Investigator
Professor Dominic Murphy is a Co-Director of the King’s Centre for Military Health Research and the Head of Research at Combat Stress. Dominic completed his PhD at King’s College London exploring vaccinations and medically unexplained symptoms in military personnel, followed by his clinical doctorate at Royal Holloway making him an academic and a clinician. Passionate about how families are impacted by military service, the AFTER study presents an opportunity to explore how Veterans with genital injuries impacts their partners exploring their personal feelings and support needs.
Dr Samantha Brooks – Research Associate
Dr Samantha Brooks is a Research Associate at King’s College London and completed her PhD at Loughborough University, exploring linguistic patterns in talk about body image and eating behaviours. Sam has an interest in mental health in the workplace and has experience developing psychosocial interventions in a workplace setting. Sam has worked in the field of military mental health since 2012 and has investigated non-deployment factors associated with mental health, the stigma of help-seeking in the Armed Forces, and the impact of Veterans’ mental ill health on their partners and families.
Ophelia Lieng – Research Assistant
Ophelia Lieng is a Research Assistant at King’s College London where she completed her MSc in War and Psychiatry. Previously, she has worked on the Afghanistan: Voices of Service project in collaboration with the Imperial War Museums investigating meaning making for individuals who had previously deployed to Afghanistan in light of the withdrawal in 2021.
Contact us
Funding
This research is supported by The Scar Free Foundation via funds from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.
References
Authors
Ophelia Chi-Yin Lieng
Samantha Brooks
Mary Keeling
Natalie Hammond
Nicola T. Fear
Dominic Murphy
