title: Patient preferences for the delivery of military mental health services.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Knowledge of patients' preferences of military mental health care is required to inform service planning. The objective was to inform service planning by quantifying, and identifying predictors of, patient preferences for mental health care providers and location of facilities.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sociodemographic and service characteristics and concerns about stigma were investigated for patients presenting to 4 U.K. Armed Forces Departments of Community Mental Health over a 2-months period (n = 163).
  
  
  RESULTS
  5% preferred to be seen by a uniformed mental health clinician, 30% by a nonuniformed clinician, and 65% reported no preference. Gender and service were associated with care provider preference and service was associated with location preference.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Armed Forces need to explore and identify ways of accommodating their patients' preference, especially regarding the uniformed status of their care provider, to achieve good engagement and acceptability.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Defence, Defence Clinical Psychology Service-Joint Medical Command, Department of Community Mental Health, PP6, Sunny Walk, HMNB, Portsmouth PO1 3LT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gould
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008889:Military Personnel; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult