Psychosocial interventions for military personnel with PTSD: protocol of a systematic review and network meta-analysis
9 affiliations
- 1Department of Primary Care & Mental Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
- 2Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, Fulbourn, UK
- 3Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Therapies, Norwich Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
- 4Department of Health Data Science, Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
- 5Policy and International Health, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre on Investment for Health and Well-being, Public Health Wales, Wrexham, UK
- 6Public Health Collaborating Unit, School of Health Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
- 7Division of Health Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
- 8Liverpool Reviews and Implementation Group (LRiG), University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
- 9Patient and Public Involvement Contributor, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Abstract
Introduction: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious mental health condition. It may develop following exposure to an extremely threatening event. Military personnel face an increased likelihood of developing PTSD because they sometimes bring experiences of difficult events from before they joined the military and because they have higher odds of being exposed to potentially traumatic events during service. To support the mental health of military personnel, several psychological interventions have been developed to help them manage PTSD symptoms. Although there is a lot of research demonstrating how well these interventions work, we do not know how the different interventions (eg, trauma-informed therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy) compare. Because many of these interventions include more than one type of treatment (eg, behavioural activation), we do not know which specific component works best.
Methods and analysis: To explore these questions, we will identify previous studies that have examined interventions for PTSD in military personnel. We will then use network meta-analysis methods to make comparisons between all interventions, including some that have never been compared against each other in previous studies, to identify the best treatments. We also aim to identify which individual components are effective, even when delivered in combination. We will work with people with lived experiences, researchers, and mental health professionals to guide the project stages. Overall, this project aims to improve outcomes for military and ex-military personnel with PTSD by (1) identifying effective treatments, (2) establishing the relevance and transferability of the findings to a wider audience and (3) offering suggestions that will have immediate implications for clinical practice.
Ethics and dissemination: No ethics approval is required as this study only involves a systematic review of published literature. The findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at relevant conferences.
PROSPERO registration number: CRD420251081519.
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BibTeX
@article{angelakis2026psychosocial,
title = {{Psychosocial interventions for military personnel with PTSD: protocol of a systematic review and network meta-analysis}},
author = {Ioannis Angelakis and Sarah Donegan and Karen Hughes and Laura Goodwin and Ffion Curtis and Alison Bryant and David Sparks and Michelle Maden and Anum Nisar and Thomas Spain and Ahmed Waqas and Catrin Tudur-Smith},
journal = {BMJ Open},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1136/bmjopen-2026-124637},
url = {https://bmjopen.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/bmjopen-2026-124637},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Psychosocial interventions for military personnel with PTSD: protocol of a systematic review and network meta-analysis
AU - Ioannis Angelakis
AU - Sarah Donegan
AU - Karen Hughes
AU - Laura Goodwin
AU - Ffion Curtis
AU - Alison Bryant
AU - David Sparks
AU - Michelle Maden
AU - Anum Nisar
AU - Thomas Spain
AU - Ahmed Waqas
AU - Catrin Tudur-Smith
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - BMJ Open
DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2026-124637
UR - https://bmjopen.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/bmjopen-2026-124637
AB - Introduction: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious mental health condition. It may develop following exposure to an extremely threatening event. Military personnel face an increased likelihood of developing PTSD because they sometimes bring experiences of difficult events from before they joined the military and because they have higher odds of being exposed to potentially traumatic events during service. To support the mental health of military personnel, several psychological interventions have been developed to help them manage PTSD symptoms. Although there is a lot of research demonstrating how well these interventions work, we do not know how the different interventions (eg, trauma-informed therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy) compare. Because many of these interventions include more than one type of treatment (eg, behavioural activation), we do not know which specific component works best. Methods and analysis: To explore these questions, we will identify previous studies that have examined interventions for PTSD in military personnel. We will then use network meta-analysis methods to make comparisons between all interventions, including some that have never been compared against each other in previous studies, to identify the best treatments. We also aim to identify which individual components are effective, even when delivered in combination. We will work with people with lived experiences, researchers, and mental health professionals to guide the project stages. Overall, this project aims to improve outcomes for military and ex-military personnel with PTSD by (1) identifying effective treatments, (2) establishing the relevance and transferability of the findings to a wider audience and (3) offering suggestions that will have immediate implications for clinical practice. Ethics and dissemination: No ethics approval is required as this study only involves a systematic review of published literature. The findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at relevant conferences. PROSPERO registration number: CRD420251081519.
SN - 2044-6055
SN - 2044-6055
ER -