To ensure Project ACTIVATE would produce something as effective as possible it was essential to:
a) consider all relevant, available literature so that the intervention would be evidence-based, and
b) to take a broader collaborative approach.
From the beginning of this project, we invited clinicians, therapists, researchers and veterans with ‘lived experience’ to provide ideas and feedback on our project. The team began by asking veterans what they wanted and then we asked clinicians if they thought the veteran-specific support could be delivered through an app, and how best to do that. Our expert veteran panel were clear in that they wanted an abstinence app and not a gambling reduction app. So we created a gambling abstinence app.
Project ACTIVATE and the ACT Vet app intervention were shaped by the broad knowledge of our stakeholder collaborators, while also factoring existing evidence. We will continue to collect iterative feedback across every stage of app testing and piloting.
For an intervention to truly work it needs to be a team effort.
Do you want to be part of our stakeholder panel? Do you have lived experience, and think your experience could help inform our app? Do you support veterans or the military in a clinical setting, and have experience with ACT and/or gambling difficulties? If so, please get in touch.
Do you have lived experience of gambling difficulties as a veteran? Are you an affected other, meaning you are affected by a veteran's gambling? Do you have research or clinician/therapist experience in this area? We want to hear from you.