Research to tackle gambling harm among Armed Forces veterans has received a major boost with three awards, totalling £1 million, for new projects in the field that involve Swansea University experts.
Credit: Swansea University
Swansea University News Release
17 March 2023
£1 million for projects involving Swansea experts to tackle gambling harm among Armed Forces veterans
Research to tackle gambling harm among Armed Forces veterans has received a major boost with three awards, totalling £1 million, for new projects in the field that involve Swansea University experts.
The projects include evaluating a smartphone app for veterans with gambling disorder and PTSD, which is aimed at reducing symptoms,
The three projects all involve the Gambling Research, Education and Treatment (GREAT) Network at Swansea University. GREAT strives to be a world-leading centre of excellence for translational research, evaluation, and evidence-based treatment for gambling-related harm.
The three projects with new funding announced are:
The ACTIVATE study, evaluating a smartphone app to reduce harmful gambling and PTSD symptoms in veterans with co-existing diagnoses of PTSD and gambling disorder. The app is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the team will examine its efficacy and cost-effectiveness.
The study, worth £300,000, is funded by the Office for Veterans’ Affairs (Cabinet Office) Health Innovation Fund and was one of 22 successful awards totalling £5m recently announced by Rt Hon Jonny Mercer MP, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs. ACTIVATE is a collaboration between Swansea University, Combat Stress, and King’s Centre for Military Health Research, King’s College London.
The Veterans’ Pathways project, a comprehensive two-year study to better understand gambling in the veterans’ community.
This brings together leading experts in gambling and veterans research (Swansea University and Anglia Ruskin University), veteran-focused NHS treatment and support services (Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust), and the UK’s premier online platform for helping those experiencing harm from gambling (Anonymind). The project is funded by an award of £1m from the Gambling Commission’s Social Responsibility Funds (by way of Regulatory Settlements), with £300,000 coming to Swansea University.
The Look Back to Move Forward project, which will develop a new timeline assessment of gambling, alcohol use, and mental health in recently transitioned veterans. It will lead to systems-wide change in help and support services for veterans with complex addiction needs.
It is a collaboration with Anglia Ruskin University and Adferiad Recovery, the UK’s largest provider of specialist inpatient detoxification treatment and a key delivery partner for the National Gambling Treatment Service. It is funded through a Transformational Grant award of £300,000 from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.
Professor Simon Dymond, Director of the GREAT Network at Swansea University said:
“We are delighted to receive these important awards and to be part of such productive collaborations with our academic and third-sector stakeholders.
Better understanding gambling harm among veterans and ensuring they can access individualised help and support is essential to overcome the devastating consequences that harmful gambling can have on former service personnel, their families, and their communities.”
The award of these competitive funds follows on from other related successful funding bids for the GREAT Network team from Greo, the Academic Forum for the Study of Gambling, and The British Academy/Leverhulme Trust for their work on understanding and reducing gambling harm.
Initially funded through a three-year infrastructure grant from Health and Care Research Wales, the GREAT Network has also been awarded an extension of its existing funding for another two years.
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Notes to Editors
Swansea University is a world-class, research-led, dual campus university offering a first-class student experience and has one of the best employability rates of graduates in the UK. The University has the highest possible rating for teaching – the Gold rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) in 2018 and was commended for its high proportions of students achieving consistently outstanding outcomes.
Swansea climbed 14 places to 31st in the Guardian University Guide 2019, making us Wales’ top ranked university, with one of the best success rates of graduates gaining employment in the UK and the same overall satisfaction level as the Number 1 ranked university.
The 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 results saw Swansea make the ‘biggest leap among research-intensive institutions’ in the UK (Times Higher Education, December 2014) and achieved its ambition to be a top 30 research University, soaring up the league table to 26th in the UK.
The University is in the top 300 best universities in the world, ranked in the 251-300 group in The Times Higher Education World University rankings 2018. Swansea University now has 23 main partners, awarding joint degrees and post-graduate qualifications.
The University was established in 1920 and was the first campus university in the UK. It currently offers around 350 undergraduate courses and 350 postgraduate courses to circa 20,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. The University has ambitious expansion plans as it moves towards its centenary in 2020 and aims to continue to extend its global reach and realise its domestic and international potential.
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