We must acknowledge that the sample size (n=51) is a small proportion of approximately 7,000 veterans residing in North East Lincolnshire (Office for National Statistics, 2023).
Face-to-face interviews enabled the collation of a more detailed understanding and explanations of needs, which would not have been possible with online surveys, although we may have accessed a broader range of veterans with the latter method.
In addition, there are possible barriers to veterans accessing mental health services and we acknowledge that this could have had an impact on the number of veterans we had the privilege to interview.
The veterans that were interviewed provided feedback on how valuable the research experience was, with frequent comments on how listened to, respected and validated they felt in the process.
Opportunities to obtain a larger sample size through liaison with local stakeholders saw mixed success, particularly as the research partially occurred during the COVID-19 national lockdowns, and required face-to-face interviews to ensure any distress was appropriately addressed.
Despite similar themes being found to other research literature, it is acknowledged that the veterans within this study may not be fully representative of the wider population of veterans residing in North East Lincolnshire.