Veterans

The veterans are a unique community shaped by past military experiences that may have positive and negative effects on their well-being as soldiers. With nearly half of the 18.4 million veterans in the United States living beyond 61 years, age-related physical and mental health conditions may impact the veterans’ well-being. Promoting veterans’ well-being has been studied extensively but literature on how they define it is scanty. It is critical to understand how veterans define well-being to inform future program development to address mental health needs. The purpose of this study is to discover the meaning and the lived experience of well-being among veterans. The methodology used for this study was a qualitative hermeneutic interpretative phenomenological approach to understand the meaning of veterans’ well-being. It allowed the phenomena to surface while exposing the essence of and the experience. The sampling method for recruiting participants was purposive sampling, with semi structured interviews conducted via ZOOM and direct observations at Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) to obtain data. Fourteen veterans participated in this study, comprising eight males and six females with majority aged over 61 years. In terms of race/ethnicity, 64 % were White, 21% Hispanic and 15 % African American. With the use of Max van Manen’s analysis strategy, seven major themes emerged: (a) A Connection With A Special Bond To The Military Sisterhood/Brotherhood, (b) The Lingering Effects Of Military Service Continue To Simmer In Veteran life, (c) Feeling Grateful/Prideful Through Appreciation For Their Military Service, (d) Healthy Companionships/Relationships With Mutual Respect Yield Veteran Equilibrium, (e) Creating A Veteran Framily/Fraternity, (f) Self-fulfilment By Giving Back And Making A Life With A Purpose and (g) Veterans Living A Healthy Life Caring For Self. Six of the seven themes addressed the veterans’ well-being. The lingering effects have persisted and challenged the Veterans’ emotional well-being. However, they were able to express their military camaraderie even in the veterans’ life. Programs based on social relationships that allow connections with veterans and/or their significant others need to be established.

Telomeres is a manuscript-length lyric essay in many parts that traces the relationship of the narrator and her father as they both navigate the landscape of post-traumatic stress disorder after his return from Vietnam.

Approximately 1.76 million men and women have served in the Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) military campaigns since October 2001. The transition from living in a war zone to resuming a fulfilling life at home is often difficult for veterans. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to gain understanding of the issues that complicate health for veterans and approaches veterans used to resolve complicating health issues associated with the challenge of coming home from war. Qualitative data collection and analysis was guided by story inquiry method. Quantitative data was collected using the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey, Version 2 (SF-36v2) and analyzed using QualityMetric Health Outcomes[TM] Score Software, Version 4.0. Seven OEF/OIF veterans who had completed at least one tour of duty in Iraq since October 2001 participated in this study. Three themes emerged from the qualitative data that capture the complicating health issues that participants encountered when coming home from war: flipping the switch, figuring out how to belong, and living the stress of a new normal. Two themes emerged from the qualitative data that capture approaches used to resolve complicating health issues associated with returning home from war: connecting with others and choosing a positive attitude. Quantitative data revealed that the majority of participants scored at or above general population norms on three of the subscales that measure physical health, as well as on two of the subscales that measure mental health; however a significant percentage scored below norms on the subscale that measures social functioning (57%) and on the subscale that directly measures mental health (43%).

This work of creative nonfiction is meant to explore the effects of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder in American war veterans and their families. As a work of blended literary journalism and memoir, the author interviewed afflicted veterans from World War II to the current Iraq and Afghanistan wars, included scholarly research, and reflected on how her father's dealings with the disorder have affected her family.