Help-seeking behaviours among conflict-affected men who misuse alcohol in Ukraine: A qualitative study

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

: Since 2014, conflict and violence in Ukraine, including the Russian annexation of Crimea and the ongoing war, have led to significant internal displacement, affecting millions of people. This humanitarian crisis has exacerbated psychological distress, with high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and suicide among internally displaced persons, military veterans, and civilians. Alcohol misuse has emerged as a prevalent maladaptive coping mechanism, yet help-seeking behaviours remain low. This qualitative study, conducted between March and May 2021, explores barriers and facilitators to help-seeking among conflict-affected Ukrainian men who misuse alcohol, prior to the Russian invasion in 2022. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 66 participants, including men engaged in risky alcohol use (n=25), their family members (n=15), and community service providers (n=26). Findings indicate that men often do not actively seek help, delay treatment, or drop out of treatment. Key barriers include stigma, limited availability of services, low problem recognition, lack of trust in psychologists and their qualifications, low family support, severity of alcohol problems and bureaucratic nature of services. Conversely, factors facilitating help-seeking include social support, provider reputation, positive self-esteem, and self-motivation to reduce or stop alcohol misuse. The study highlights the need for targeted interventions at the community level to improve treatment engagement for alcohol misuse and psychological distress. Strategies such as brief intervention programs to reduce alcohol misuse, stigma-reduction campaigns, and incorporating mental health training in primary health care curriculums for doctors and nurses could enhance awareness among professionals and broad public and improve access to care. Addressing these challenges is critical to improving mental health outcomes for conflict-affected men in Ukraine.