"The purpose of this study was to determine whether the educational levels attained by epileptic male veterans at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Coral Gables, Florida had a bearing on their employment as revealed by the analysis of nine selected items of information. The sample comprised thirty-four epileptic male veterans dichotomized by their educational level--an eleventh grade education or less, more than an eleventh grade education--who were treated as patients within a four month period"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "June, 1960." / "Submitted to the Graduate School of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work." / Advisor: John T. Greene, Professor Directing Study. / Includes bibliographical references.

Objective: Some Veterans who recently served in the military report significant psychological problems based on their experiences in the military. Stressors that these Veterans face when they transition out of the military can exacerbate these problems and negatively impact their long-term physical and psychological well-being. We are conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the efficacy of providing Veterans who are transitioning back into their civilian communities trained, peer mentorship (Pro Vetus) and membership in a Veteran Support Organization (VSO- Team Red, White, and Blue) to reduce transition stressors, maintain psychological and physical health, reduce suicides and reduce criminal incidents. Method: Six hundred, New York City area Veterans who transitioned out of the military since 2002 will be randomized to one of three study arms (1. Team Red, White and Blue membership plus trained, peer Pro Vetus mentorship; 2. Team Red, White, and Blue membership; and 3. Waitlist control). Intent-to-treat analysis will compare changes in transition stressors (proximal measures) as well as psychological and physical health, suicide, and criminal incidents (distal measures). For this preliminary investigation of the full RCT, the results of 58 Veterans who completed the pre-intervention and post-intervention were analyzed. For the analysis, the first and second study arms were combined into one intervention arm because of the unbalanced nature of the arms. Results: The preliminary results indicate that Veterans in the combined intervention arm experienced less transition difficulties and had higher levels of social support at the four month post-intervention assessment. Though promising, there are still extensive limitations to the inferences that can be drawn from this research. These limitations will be reduced as data points increase and more Veterans participate in the research study. Keywords: Veterans, transition, peer mentorship, Veteran Support Organization, PTSD, suicide

Combat veterans partake in exit interviews that may be inadequate in addressing their health and mental health needs prior to returning to a civilian lifestyle. Exit interviews have not been thoroughly evaluated from the perspective of veterans to determine their helpfulness in meeting the needs of those that have returned home. It is vital to the reintegration process and quality of life of our veterans to assess their needs as a priority over the feedback and inquiry of potential changes the military can make in the future for active military members, considering many veterans suffer from mental and physical illnesses and combat injuries. These war acquired injuries leave many veterans without adequate resources, facing homelessness and utilizing unhealthy coping mechanisms. Which should concern and require action on the part of social workers in carrying out our professional values, fulfilling the needs that are not met and a potential role in a multidisciplinary team. This study seeks to explore the veteran’s perspective on the helpfulness of exit interviews and how these interviews may better serve the health and mental health needs of veterans returning to a civilian lifestyle. The research findings suggest that military exit interviewers are not as helpful as they could be in regard to veteran reintegration into society. Three main themes surfaced from the qualitative analysis including: Inadequate Exit Interviews, Diminished Desire to Reenlist, subtheme Pressure to Reenlist, and Face to Face Communication.

Thousands of service persons and veterans may be leaving military service annually without required skills and not receiving timely career counseling and interventions needed to aid in their career transitions. Knowledge about service persons' career adaptability, confidence, and readiness could enhance the actions of all stakeholders to address the challenges that accompany career transitions and may aid in identifying needed counseling and interventions. Using a survey containing the Career Transitions Inventory and the Career Futures Inventory-Revised, perspectives were obtained from service persons (N = 264) while attending Transition Assistance Program workshops. Two research questions for the study examined associations between individuals' career adaptability and 2 transition variables: confidence and readiness. Statistical testing was accomplished using Pearson correlation coefficient, t test, and 1-way analysis of variance. Correlations of transition confidence and overall career adaptability scores indicated a low negative correlation (r (262) = -0.4299, p < .01), and correlations of transition readiness and overall career adaptability scores indicated a low positive correlation (r (262) = 0.3988, p < .01). In addition, significant differences were noted when examining survey results based on demographic variables such as race, education, marital status, highest pay-grade achieved, and years of service. This study contributes to social change by demonstrating techniques for assessing personal traits. Implications are discussed for using self-reported data for counseling and interventions for individuals, which could enhance their career transition experiences.

The inability of business owners to hire skilled employees affects the profitability of a small business. Small business owners may attain profitability by understanding the value of military veterans and cultivating strategies for the hiring and recruitment process. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies that business owners in Fayetteville, North Carolina used to recruit military veterans as a means to acquire skilled employees to maximize productivity, profitability, and sustainability. The conceptual framework of this study included human capital theory and recruitment theory. The purposive sample consisted of 6 participants who were small business owners. Data from interviews and supporting documents were processed and analyzed using data source triangulation to identify 3 emergent themes. Findings indicated that, for these 6 Fayetteville small business owners, job description and transition workshops, resume review and communication, and accommodations and benefits were key attributes related to the successful recruitment of military veterans as skilled employees. Specifically, streamlined hiring processes, relationship building, and access to resources were predictive of a successful hire. Knowledge barriers regarding hiring processes prevented efficient communication between small business owners and military veterans, but business owners cultivated strategies to help with hiring military veterans. The implications for positive social change include the potential for business owners to capitalize on the skills that military veterans bring to the civilian workforce, which in turn may improve the economy.

Business managers lack knowledge and understanding of the transferability of Army veterans' individual work performance (IWP) in the private sector, which results in organizations' failure to hire Army veterans who possess strong IWPs. The purpose of this nonexperimental, cross-sectional study was to compare Army veterans' and nonveterans' transferable IWP as defined by task performance (TP), contextual performance (CP), and counter-productive work behavior (CWB). The IWP framework provided the theoretical foundation for this study. The research question examined how veterans' IWPs compared to those of nonveterans. The sample frame included U.S. Army civilian veterans and nonveterans at a large military installation in the United States. Data were collected from the IWP questionnaire with 210 participants (105 veterans and 105 nonveterans). Independent-sample t tests were used to analyze the data based on an alpha of 0.05 and a medium effect size of 0.50. Rejection of null hypotheses provided evidence to indicate differences between veterans' and nonveterans' TP, CP, CWB, and the composite index of IWP. Veterans measured higher compared to nonveterans for all hypotheses tested. The results of the study have several implications for positive social change. Business managers, veterans, and society benefit by improving understanding of veterans' transferable IWPs. Results of this study could lead to an improvement in perceptions of veterans as possessing positive and sought-after work attributes and with a competitive advantage in the workplace, leading to lower unemployment of veterans and higher productivity of companies that hire veterans.

Healthcare costs have risen from 13.8% in 2000 to 17.9% in 2009 (Gordon, Leiman, Deland, & Pardes, 2014). Poor transitional care has been identified as a cause of the high healthcare costs (Naylor et al., 2013; Obama, 2013). In 2009, the Department of Veterans Health Administration (VHA) implemented a national reform of outpatient care to create Patient-Aligned Care Teams (PACTs) with a goal to improve transitional care and reintegration into outpatient care through registered nurse case managers conducting discharge telephone follow-up calls. However, discharge telephone follow-up calls have not been explored within the VHA. This study explored the relationships among discharge telephone follow-up calls, selected Veteran characteristics including the length of index hospital stay, and 30-day all cause hospital readmissions between fiscal years 2011 and 2013. Hospital readmissions were explored in parallel time periods to the timing of the discharge telephone follow-up calls. Study data were collected retrospectively from VHA inpatient and outpatient records. Descriptive statistics, measures of central tendency, bivariate statistics, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. The study found 124,069 Veterans were discharged from the VHA from 2011 to 2013. Of those discharges, 15,954 (12.86%) were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days and 35.06% of the readmissions occurred within the first seven days after discharge. Discharge telephone follow-up calls increased from 312 in 2011 to 26,549 in 2013. Increasing Veteran age, number of comorbidities, length of index hospital stay, and being identified as frequently hospitalized in the previous year were significantly related to hospital readmissions at each of the hospital readmission time frames (within two days, between three and seven days, and between eight and thirty days after hospital discharge). This study identified a relationship between discharge telephone follow-up calls and the parallel hospital readmission time period. However, only discharge telephone follow-up calls within two days were found to decrease the likelihood of hospital readmissions and only hospital readmissions within two days after discharge (OR=0.595). The relationships between discharge telephone follow-up calls and hospital readmissions potentially explains previously mixed results and suggests two potential explanations. One, discharge telephone follow-up calls have a limited relationship to hospital readmissions and a short duration of protective effects preventing hospital readmissions. The second explanation is self-selection bias confounds the relationship between discharge telephone follow-up calls and hospital readmissions. Both explanations suggest future research and clinical practice should focus on exploring bundled transitional care interventions as a method to reduce hospital readmissions.

The New Zealand Government�s repatriation measures to assist Great War veterans have largely been considered a failure. This thesis examines repatriation through the experiences of Dunedin and Ashburton veterans, demonstrating that within the context of the 1920s pre-welfare state these provisions proved to be both generous and far more successful than is often suggested. The Government�s repatriation response to returning veterans reflected contemporary attitudes towards dependency and need. Belief in self-reliance underpinned repatriation policy, with a stated aim of restoring veterans to the civil position they held prior to enlistment rather than providing assistance to move up the occupational ladder. Fear of the morally corrosive effect of dependency, as well as economic concerns, meant the repatriation provisions were principally concerned with ensuring veterans regained financial independence through employment. To that end war pensions compensated for lost earning power, rather than providing a full living income, and repatriation provisions largely consisted of assistance in finding jobs or obtaining farms and businesses. The Government�s repatriation provisions also reflected contemporary medical knowledge. The repatriation legislation restricted war pensions and free medical care to veterans with disabilities directly attributable to military service. However the link between military service and disability remained unclear in many cases. Slightly more than half of those discharged unfit suffered from sickness rather than wounds, many from conditions common among the civilian population. Contemporary aetiological knowledge often did not support the war pension applications lodged by returned soldiers disabled as a result of non-contagious disease, and an absence of clinical evidence undermined claims of latent illness. In addition the medical profession�s failure to adopt psychological theory and practice meant that by the early 1920s shell shock sufferers were treated according to psychiatric medicine�s understanding of mental illness. Within the context of 1920s New Zealand the repatriation provisions were generous: the Repatriation Department�s work had no precedent; the war disabled were one of the few groups to receive state pensions and received more than other state pensioners; and the provisions of the soldier settlement scheme were available to all veterans, regardless of health, capital or farming experience. Despite the limited aims of the Government�s repatriation provisions many veterans did successfully re-establish themselves in civilian society. By the 1930s Ashburton soldier settlements had proved more successful than others in Canterbury, and compared well with other crown settlements in Ashburton County. More generally war service produced no dramatic change in the occupational structure of veterans: veterans generally retained their occupational status during the post-war decade, volunteers faring slightly better than conscripts but neither as well as their civilian counterparts. Although some veterans certainly did experience need and indigence after the war the majority of urban and rural men in the sample groups were financially stable, particularly after the boom and bust of the immediate post-war years. The men in the Dunedin and Ashburton sample groups represent the most successful of the returned soldier population nevertheless they show that a significant proportion of Great War veterans were successfully repatriated by the end of the post-war decade.

As men and women return from serving on the frontlines of Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF; Afghanistan) and Iraqi Freedom (OIF; Iraq), many struggle with emotional or behavioral difficulties stemming from the stresses of battle. However, research has shown that these service members may be unwilling or unable to recognize or report such difficulties due to such factors as amnesia, avoidance, or cognitive impairment. Hence, the burden to recognize distress and encourage treatment increasingly falls on peers, friends, and especially intimate partners. Given that this responsibility is often placed on significant others, it is imperative to determine which symptoms are amenable to detection by informants and which are not. The current study examined the ability of female spouses of Vietnam veterans to report on various indicators of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD. Item response theory (IRT) analyses were conducted with a dataset composed of both self- and informant reports using the same items regarding the same individual in order to examine the item-level properties. Results from these analyses indicated that the ability of both spouses and veterans to detect PTSD symptoms varies across item content and that items themselves do not relate equally to, or become diagnostic at the same level of, PTSD. Overall, veterans showed greater sensitivity to their own symptoms and were able to provide more information than their spouses for nearly every item rated by independent experts to be overt or covert. However, some items provided greater information when endorsed by the spouse versus the veteran even though, consistent with the majority of other items, these items were endorsed by the spouse only once the PTSD symptoms had reached greater severity. Implications of these findings as well as future directions for research regarding observer reports of PTSD symptomatology were explored.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 237-241)