Multi-site Programming Offered to Promote Resilience in Military Veterans

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Military and veteran suicide rates exceed those found in the general population. Veterans often reject patient identities, creating barriers to care for mental health within the clinical sector and a mandate for prevention programs. The purpose of this study was to offer a postintervention process evaluation of one peer-led resilience program offered to military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan at three sites in 2013. Methods: Secondary analysis of survey data collected involved mixed-methods analysis of open and closed-ended questions. In total, the research team reviewed 52 electronic survey responses; participant response rate was 48.1%. Results: Descriptive data analysis found that all participants rated Just Roll With It Bootcamp content as “somewhat useful” (17.9%) or “very useful” (82.1%). Qualitative analysis of open-ended questions found that content was perceived as valuable by participants. Emergent themes included: health practices, social support, and participant quality of life or satisfaction. Comments also informed four subthemes which included: meditation/mindfulness, nutrition, physical practice, and the seminars’ physical environment. Conclusion: Culturally-informed prevention programs that emphasize social support, physical movement, and peer-leadership have a vital role to play in working to prevent suicide by promoting quality of life for veterans.

Social Support Mediates the Relationship Between Mental-Physical Multiple Morbidities and Engagement in Aerobic Physical Activity Among Military Service Members and Veterans

“…Although social support only partially mediated the relationship between multiple morbidities in SMVs and engagement in aerobic physical activity, the introduction of adequate social support may encourage greater participation in the recommended level of aerobic physical activity. There are many programs underway with novel approaches to support SMVs along the path to increased physical activity (Thomas, Plummer Taylor, Hamner, Glazer, & Kaufman, 2015). Potentially, information about accessing these programs could be included in military discharge debriefings and routine healthcare visits at VA facilities, especially for older veterans as they may be at greater risk for multiple comorbid conditions and may not have any familiarity with post-deployment social support programs.…”

Relative accuracy of social and medical determinants of suicide in electronic health records

“…One possible solution that might be worth exploring is to engage in strategies that address social determinants of suicide. The approaches that rely on reducing suicide through changing social determinants are often referred to as resilience training 6,7 and are part of connecting the veterans to their community. The idea is that if the veteran has a strong community, then the community can help materially and emotionally to reduce the consequences of adverse events.…”

Belonging and Support: Women Veterans' Perceptions of Veteran Service Organizations

“…Programming should consider gender-based norms and recognize that barriers to women veterans' participation in VSOs exist. Simply noticing that 71.43% of female veteran respondents are not current members of an organization is just the beginning; outreach must be thoughtful, peer-led, and considerate of the culture of women warriors (Thomas, Plummer Taylor, Hamner, Glazer, & Kaufman, 2015).…”