Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) has awarded £197,645 to Blesma, The Limbless Veterans, to conduct a two-year study on veterans with loss of functionality of limbs and their families’ everyday living experience.
The study, which will be conducted by Anglia Ruskin University, builds on previous research funded by FiMT, which examined the experiences of veterans who had lost a limb, or limbs, together with the experiences of their families, Caring and Coping: the Family Perspective on Living with Limb Loss.
While conducting the initial research, the team identified evidence of unique experiences amongst a cohort of veterans with loss of function, rather than physical loss, of a limb. The research indicated that living with a limb of limited use can be extremely challenging and that these challenges might not be fully understood by healthcare professionals.
This study will include a literature review and interviews with veterans and their families and will provide an in-depth insight into the impact of a loss of function of a limb, or limbs, on veterans and their families. The research will also provide a deeper understanding of any barriers encountered and how these can be overcome. The findings will then be used to generate new or improved models for service provision within Blesma and the wider healthcare sector.
Ray Lock, Chief Executive of Forces in Mind Trust, says:
“It’s extremely satisfying to award this grant to Blesma in partnership with Anglia Ruskin University as it builds on our previous work and underlines our strategic ambition to create greater impact in all that we do. The collaboration between a strong academic institution and a trusted service delivery charity proved to be enormously influential in improving the lives of veterans with limb loss and their families in the initial study. We look forward to seeing how this project can help inform service delivery and improve the experiences of families of veterans with loss of use of limb which, as identified in the previous research, can present a set of very different and unique challenges.”
Jon Bryant, Chief Executive of Blesma the Limbless Veterans, says:
“I am delighted to see this vital study get underway. It will build on the excellent work that led to Caring and Coping: ‘The Family Perspective on Living with Limb Loss’. We are very grateful to Forces in Mind Trust who recognised the importance of family in all that we do and we look forward to seeing the result of the work by Anglia Ruskin University.”
