About The Event
Organised by the King’s Centre for Military Health Research. Bringing together leading academics, researchers, medical professionals and charities to discuss the key issues in military mental health and the Armed Forces community.
The FiMT Research Centre Conference will conveniently be held in the same location, the day before (Monday 13th May 2024).
After this conference on the 13th May, there will be a drinks and canape reception in the early evening, for delegates who attended either day.You can subscribe to the FiMT RC mailing list or visit their website for updates on the FiMT RC Conference: fimt-rc.org
Where
King's College London, Bush House South East Wing, Strand Campus, London, WC2R 1AE
Please enter through the South East Wing entrance, as directed to you on Google Maps
As you approach the door you will see it labeled 'The Arcade'
Once you enter, you will be greeted immediately by registration
When
Tuesday
14 May 2024
VMHC 2024 Speakers
Professor Nicola Fear
Organiser / Chair
King's Centre for Military Health Research
Professor Dominic Murphy
Organiser / Chair
King's Centre for Military Health Research / Combat Stress
Professor Sir Simon Wessely
Chair - King's Centre for Military Health Research
Dr. Abhimanyu Sud
Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans
Professor Alan Finnegan
University of Chester
Dr. Alyson Mahar
Queens University Canada
Dr Camila Guindalini
Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation
Greenslopes Private Hospital, Brisbane
Professor Cherie Armour
Cheyenne Kohere
New Zealand National Institute of Skills and Technology
Toi Ohomai Te Pūkenga
Clare Pope
Reader at Brunel University London
Craig Jones
Fighting for Pride
Dr Dan Dyball
ADVANCE Study
Academic Department of Military Rehabilitation
Danny Kinahan
Northern Ireland’s Veterans Commissioner
Professor David Forbes
Phoenix Australia Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health
Dr David Turgoose
University of Leeds
Professor Dr Elbert Geuze
Utrecht University Medical Center
Georgina Drysdale
Office for Veterans'Affairs
Dr Gwen O'Connor
Veterans NHS Wales
Dr Jodie Westhead
University of Manchester
Kate England
Lived experience
Kate McCullough
MOD
Dr Lydia Morris
University of Manchester
Dr Marie-Louise Sharp
Kings College London
Dr Mary Keeling
RAND Europe
Professor Matthew Kiernan
Northumbria University
Michelle Alston
Forces in Mind Trust
Dr Natalie Hammond
Manchester Metropolitan University
Natasha Biscoe
Combat Stress
Ronessa Dass
McMaster University
SCHEDULE
Session 1: Why integrated healthcare matters
[Location: the Auditorium] Chair: Prof. Nicola Fear
• 09:00 - 09:30 Registration
• 09:30 - 09:40 Opening Address (Prof. Sir Simon Wessely)
• 09:40 - 10:00 Prevalence of mental and physical heath disorders in military veterans: a comparison study using primary healthcare data (Prof. Alan P Finnegan)
• 10:00 - 10:20 What is the impact on the mental health of Canadian military families? (Dr. Alyson Mahar)
• 10:20 - 10:40 Veteran Care: A Snapshot of Life as a spouse (Kate England)
• 10:40 - 10:45 Session 1: Closing Remarks
• 10:45 - 11:30 BREAK
Session 2: Parallel Sessions: Highlighting the latest health & wellbeing research
• Session 2A: Lifespan (11:30 - 12:30)
• [Location: Auditorium] Chair: Prof Nicola Fear
• 11:30 - 11:45 Military to Civilian Transition - a family's journey (Cheyenne Kohere)
• 11:45 - 12:00 Associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Complex-PTSD, Moral Injury and social support (Dr David Turgoose)
• 12:00 - 12:15 Assessing Psychosocial Factors relevant to Veterans' Transition (Dr Camila Guindalini)
• 12:15 - 12:30 Supporting Veterans Living with Dementia: A multiphase UK based study (Dr Lydia Morris)
• Session 2B: Physical Health (11:30 - 12:30)
• [Location: Lecture Theatre 1] Chair: Dr Walter Busuttil
• 11:30 - 11:45 The effect of team sport on the health and well-being of medically discharged WIS military veterans (Clare Pope)
• 11:45 - 12:00 Combat-Genital Injury in UK Male Military Veteran (Dr Mary Keeling and Dr Natalie Hammond)
• 12:00 - 12:15 The mind speaks through heart beats: Physical combat injury, mental health and cardiovascular health (Dr Dan Dyball)
• 12:15 - 12:30 “You’re there, but your brain is not”: A qualitative descriptive study on the impacts of brain fog in Veterans with chronic pain (Ronessa Dass)
•Sessions 2C: Looking at ways to reduce risk (11:30 - 12:30)
• [Location: Lecture Theatre 2] Chair: Dr Marie-Louise Sharp
• 11:30 - 11:45 Developing a tool for identifying clinical risk from free text clinical records using natural language processing and machine learning (Natasha Biscoe)
• 11:45 - 12:00 Understand, Identify and Prevent: Understanding care breakdown and suicide in the United Kingdom’s Veteran population (Prof. Matthew Kiernan)
• 12:00 - 12:15 Exploring suicidality risk in veteran’s resident in Northern Ireland (Prof. Cherie Armour)
• 12:15 - 12:30 Suicide after leaving the UK Armed Forces – Rates and risk factors (Dr Jodie Westhead)
• 12:30 - 13:30 LUNCH & NETWORKING
Session 3: Examples of health and wellbeing disorders that need an integrated approach
[Location: the Auditorium] Chair: Prof. Dominic Murphy
• 13:30 - 13:55 Delivering the UK government's first Women Veterans' Strategy (Georgina Drysdale)
• 13:55 - 14:20 Advancing chronic pain research to improve Veteran health and well-being (Dr. Abhimanyu Sud)
• 14:20 - 14:40 Imaging trauma: Neuroimaging research in posttraumatic stress disorder in military personnel (Prof. Elbert Geuze)
• 14:40 - 14:50 Special Guest
• 14:50 - 15:10 Is anger in veterans a public health issue? (Prof. David Forbes)
• 15:10 - 15:40 BREAK
Session 4: Bringing it together
[Location: the Auditorium] Chair: Prof. Dominic Murphy
• 15:40 - 16:00 Update from the Minister' Johnny Mercer MP
• 16:00 - 16:20 What epidemiological data can tell us about co-morbidity and complex health needs (Dr. Marie-Louise Sharp)
• 16:20 - 17:00 Panel Discussion: What are the benefits and challenges of integrating health systems
• Chair: Michelle Easton; Commissioners and experts - Danny Kinahan, Craig Jones, Dr. Gwen O'Connor, Kate McCullough
• 17:00 - 17:10 Closing remarks from conference chair & poster prizes (Prof. Dominic Murphy)
Event Venue
The Arcade at Bush House, Strand Campus, London, WC2R 1AE
Please enter through the Bush House Arcade entrance, as directed to you on Google Maps.
As you approach the door you will see it labeled ‘The Arcade’
Once you enter, you will immediately be greeted by registration.
King's College London, London
King’s College London is an internationally renowned university delivering exceptional education and world-leading research.
Buy Tickets
Ticket F.A.Q
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How do I buy my ticket?
Tickets can be purchased via the King's College London e-store by clicking here.
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How do I access the Cobseo discounted tickets?
Please email [email protected] and ask for the password. You must ensure you include your organisations name in your email, so we can verify you are a Cobseo member. Please note each organisation is entitled to a maximum of 2 discounted tickets.
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Can I get a refund?
Our policy is as follows:
- Cancellation before 13th April 2024 – 100% refund
- Cancellation less than one month before the event – no refund
Call for Abstracts: Oral Presentations or Posters
Submissions for this year’s Veterans’ Mental Health Conference (VMHC) for oral presentations or for the poster session are now live. We invite submissions from those working in the sector researching the Armed Forces community (including research on serving personnel, veterans and their families). In particular, would welcome submissions from early career researchers (ECRs). The theme for the 2024 conference is ‘The importance of integrating health and wellbeing research and clinical practice’. As such, we encourage submissions to be linked to the theme.
Your abstract should be no more than 250 words and must include a funding statement (not included in the word count stating if funding supported this research or not, and if so, who the project was funded by). If you do not have funding, please declare this. Abstracts with no or preliminary findings will be considered if the full and final findings will be available by the time of the conference (14th May 2024). Please make this clear when you submit your abstract.
Selected abstracts will be allocated as either:- An oral presentation which will take place on the day. Presentations are to be 15 minutes long, including 5 minutes for questions.
- A traditional poster to be displayed for the duration of the conference.
Oral Presentation: If your abstract is selected as an oral presentation, you will be given a complimentary ticket to the VMH conference.
Poster Presentation: If your abstract is selected as a poster you will need to purchase a ticket. However, posters will be eligible for to win a prize. There are 3 x £50 vouchers available to win.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased via the King's College London estore. Please note, the FiMT Research Centre are holding their conference the day before, on 13th May 2024 in the same location.
Please submit your abstract to [email protected] by Monday 15th January 2024. In your email, please include the following:
- Your full name and institutional affiliation.
- Indicate if you are an Early Career Researcher: whether you are a masters' student, PhD student or recent doctoral graduate (within last 3 years).
- Your abstract (maximum 250 words) with a clear title and funding statement.
- Your preference for an oral presentation, poster presentation or either.
Newsletter
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Contact Us
Organiser Address
King's Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR)Weston Education Centre, Cutcombe Road, SE5 9RJ
London