81 4 DISCLOSURE IN THE MILITARY - A QUALITATIVE STUDY Table 1. Policy surrounding substance (ab)use within the Dutch military. Type of substance Rules Alcohol Use of alcohol is prohibited during working hours. Soft drugs(e.g. marijuana, hashish) Use of soft drugs is prohibited, during and outside of working hours. Use of soft drugs outside of working hours results in an official warning from the military, where multiple warmings result in discharge. Use of soft drugs during working hours, results in discharge from military service and, consequently, loss of employment. However, when reported to a MMH-professional, patient-confidentiality is strictly adhered to and thus treatment is possible. Hard drugs(e.g. heroin, cocaine, amphetamine.) Use of hard drugs is prohibited, during and outside of working hours. Use results in discharge from military service and, consequently, loss of employment. However, when reported to a MMH-professional, patient-confidentiality is strictly adhered to and thus treatment is possible. Exception patient-confidentiality When there is immediate danger for the patient and/or others, as a result of the MHC/SA, the MMH-professional is allowed to break the patient-confidentiality. This will first be discussed with the patient, whereafter the patient’s supervisor will be informed. Participants A total of 46 people participated, distributed over eight focus groups (min. N=3, max. N=10). As the main focus was on barriers to and facilitators for disclosure, which is an individual decision of the worker with MHC/SA, four groups were recruited to represent this perspective (current and/or past MHC/SA), and two for each of the other perspectives (soldiers without MHC/SA and MMH professionals). Demographics can be found in Table 2. Two people signed up for the study, but could not participate due to illness. Table 2. Sample Characteristics per set of Focus Groups, reported in M (range) or N. Demographics Soldiers with MHC/SA (Groups = 4, N= 20) Soldiers without MHC/SA (Groups = 2, N=10) Mental Health Professionals (Groups = 2, N=16) Age 46.25 (27- 57) 31.8 (22- 55) 41.81 (26-56) Male 18 8 11 Married/living together 19 6 11 Permanent contract 20 8 16 Ranks Staff officer 6 4 15 Non-commissioned officer 10 1 0 Corporals 0 1 0 Private 0 4 0 Civilian 0 0 1 Unknown 4 0 0
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