First year after service ‘vital’ for veterans’ readjustment to civilian life
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Findings of a prospective cohort study highlight the need for increased attention to the health of United States military veterans returning to civilian life, as well as enlisted personnel, to prevent chronic readjustment challenges, researchers wrote in American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
“Currently, much of the transition support offered to separating veterans focuses on preparing them for civilian employment and providing information on benefits,” Dawne S. Vogt, PhD, of the National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System, told Healio Psychiatry. “In addition, many programs focus their efforts on addressing the needs of veterans with the most chronic or severe concerns. The current study suggests the potential value of screening all veterans for commonly experienced health conditions in the first year after they leave military service, as well as the importance of tailoring interventions to the specific needs of at-risk veterans.”
According to Vogt and colleagues, more than 200,000 U.S. service members transition out of military service annually. Prior research has pointed to the importance of the first year of military-to-civilian transitioning as critical for early intervention and prevention efforts that can mitigate vulnerability to chronic readjustment challenges experienced by some veterans from prior cohorts. To examine the health and well-being of U.S. veterans during the first year after military service, as well as to test hypotheses for differences in veterans’ well-being over time across life domains based on sex, military rank and deployment history, the researchers analyzed data from a national sample of 9,566 veterans recruited from a roster of all separating U.S. service members in the fall of 2016. Within 3 months of separation and then 6 months later, they assessed veterans’ status, functioning and satisfaction regarding their health, work and social relationships.
The researchers found that health was the most common concern for newly separated veterans. Many veterans reported chronic physical (53%) or mental (33%) health conditions and less satisfaction with their health than either their social relationships or work. Only work functioning demonstrated a significant decline in the first year following separation, whereas vocational and social well-being were high. Warzone-deployed veterans reported more health concerns and women reported more mental health concerns than their nondeployed and male peers. Compared with officer counterparts, enlisted personnel reported consistently poorer social, vocational and health outcomes.
“I was pleased to see that so many veterans reported good outcomes in work and social domains despite their health concerns, which speaks to the resilience of the veteran population,” Vogt said. “I was also somewhat surprised that warzone-deployed veterans did not report more difficulties at work or in social relationships than their nondeployed peers, as a lot of concern has been raised about the readjustment of warfare-exposed veterans. What remains to be seen is whether these veterans, as well as other veterans with health concerns at the time of separation, are able to maintain their broader well-being over time, as it is well-established that health problems can erode functioning over time.” – by Joe Gramigna
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.