The Veterans Metrics Initiative study of US veterans’ experiences during their transition from military service

Abstract

PurposeEfforts to promote the health and well-being of military veterans have been criticised for being inadequately informed of veterans’ most pressing needs as they separate from military service, as well as the programmes that are most likely to meet these needs. The current article summarises limitations of the current literature and introduces The Veterans Metrics Initiative (TVMI) study, a longitudinal assessment of US veterans’ well-being and programme use in the first three years after they separate from military service. Veterans were assessed within 3 months of military separation and will complete five additional assessments at 6-month intervals during the subsequent period.ParticipantsThe TVMI study cohort consists of a national sample of 9566 newly separated US veterans that were recruited in the fall of 2016.Findings to dateThe TVMI sample includes representation from all branches of service, men and women, and officers and enlisted personnel. Although representative of the larger population on many characteristics, differential response rates were observed for some subgroups, necessitating the development of non-response bias weights. Comparisons between unweighed and weighted results suggest that the weighting procedure adequately adjusts for observed differences.Future plansAnalyses are under way to examine veterans’ well-being and programme use in the period following separation after military service, as well as factors associated with poor outcomes. We have also begun to decompose programmes into their core components to facilitate examination of how these components relate to well-being. Once our third data collection is complete, we will examine factors related to different patterns of readjustment over time.

Reducing Barriers to Post-9/11 Veterans’ Use of Programs and Services as They Transition to Civilian Life

“…Veterans who had separated from active duty service or de-activated from active duty status in the prior three months were identified from Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense Identity Repository (VADIR) and were invited to participate in the study. Detailed information on the sample, procedures, and participant demographics have been published elsewhere (39). Briefly, a total of 48,965 veterans were invited to participate in The Veteran's Metrics Initiative (TVMI) study.…”

Development and Validation of a Tool to Assess Military Veterans' Status, Functioning, and Satisfaction with Key Aspects of their Lives

“…A total of 79 per cent of this sample ( N = 7,342) completed the survey again 6 months later. No meaningful differences were observed between the demographics of those who completed both timepoints and those who completed only the first survey (Vogt et al., ).…”

“…The question of how those who serve in the military fare after they leave service has been a topic of long‐standing interest within the United States and around the world (Pinder et al., ; Thompson et al., ; Vogt et al., ). Within the United States, there are over 19 million military veterans (US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, ) and more than 40,000 organisations devoted to promoting their health, vocational, financial, and social well‐being (Berglass & Harrell, ; Pedersen et al., ).…”

“…Within the United States, there are over 19 million military veterans (US Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, ) and more than 40,000 organisations devoted to promoting their health, vocational, financial, and social well‐being (Berglass & Harrell, ; Pedersen et al., ). Yet, our knowledge of the extent to which these organisations meet veterans' most pressing needs remains limited, as comprehensive assessments of veterans' well‐being are not the norm (Institute of Medicine, ; Vogt et al., ). To address this knowledge gap, we sought to assess the well‐being of US military veterans.…”

Reconceptualizing the U.S. Military’s Transition Assistance Program: The Success in Transition Model

“…This portal/application will provide transitioning veterans with information about the vast array of resources, programs, and services available to support a successful transition. The assessment tool could be built in-part from available valid and reliable instruments designed to assess how military members adjust to transition, such as the Transitioning to Civilian Life Scale (TCLS) and the measures used in the Veterans Metrics Initiative, which are described in Phase Three of the model (Weiss, Rubin, & Graeser, 2019;Vogt, et al, 2018). Members with higher scores on this assessment that indicate multiple risk factors potentially predictive of a more difficult transition could be interviewed by current TAP staff or possibly by an online avatar to fully assess responses.…”