We are building a digital platform to help the estimated 1m* UK Armed Forces veterans who live with persistent or chronic pain

UmioSphere® will assist leaving and former serving personnel to reclaim and expand their lives beyond persistent pain. Via innovative experience-centred digital technologies, tools and content, it will support them and their families to:

• Engage with their pain in more positive, productive ways

• Express changes in their wider experience of living with pain

• Obtain personalised advice and recommendations

• Build personal and collective motivation and learning via buddy/peer networks

• Access specialist NHS, MOD and charity pain, mental health and wrap-around support services as well as veteran- and pain-friendly experiences

• Co-create their own veteran/pain support, groups, events and activities to help realise more fulfilled lives.

*The 1m (43%) figure is based on US and Canadian studies of prevalence of chronic pain in veterans. Please contact us for references to these studies.

“I’m not a veteran that’s been out and done a lot of tours and got a lot of medals. It’s a strange feeling, like a bit lesser you know, but maybe the pain sharing, the pain and experience could equalise that, you know, you’re the same.”

Male, ex-Navy, 44

“If this platform had been available, I’d have been all over it. I’d have been like, what else can I do that’s local to me? Who else can I chat to? What have they been doing that I could be doing? And what have I been doing that they could be doing?”

Female, ex-RAF, 41

“If you get a little bit of a boost which something like this could create then that would help improve so many different elements of like your mental health, your well-being.”

Male, ex-RAF, 38

“If this had been around, and I’d known about it, my journey might have been a hell of a lot different and I may not have struggled in the way I have.”

Male, 45, ex-Army

“The fact that it’s simple to use will encourage the older, less computer savvy guys.”

Female, ex-Army, 57

“It would be good to see what’s available locally, services and activities and people with similar injuries, abilities and service background, where I’m not going to turn up and everyone’s a marathon runner you know?”

Male, ex-Navy 45

“It will show, especially for young men, that talking about and seeing other people’s mental health is completely normal. And it is normal. That in itself is absolute gold.”

Female, ex-RAF, 51

“It’s good that other veterans can see if you’ve been doing something and you’re in absolute agony and it’s made your mental health worse. You know, they can give you a message and say, oh, you’re all right mate?”

Male, ex-Army, 57

For NHS, government, veteran charity and other stakeholders

For NHS, central and local government, charity, community, business and other agents, UmioSphere® will build new understanding of veteran-with-pain psychologies, goals, resources and experiences.

Via novel, more distributed modes of community, peer and actor engagement, it shall support enhanced care and service awareness, access, co-ordination, performance and co-creation in a more-than-clinical veteran with pain experience ecosystem.

The development of UmioSphere® for HM Veterans was supported with a grant from the UK Office for Veteran Affairs in HM Government’s Cabinet Office and overseen by the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA).

Thank you for your interest. Please complete the form below to register your details, and if you like, send us a message or question.