The physical, psychological, and social impacts of participation in the Invictus Pathways Program: A qualitative analysis of veterans' perceptions and experiences

INTRODUCTION

UniSA's Invictus Pathways Program (IPP) is motivated by the spirit of the Invictus Games to mobilise the benefits of sport to aid physical, psychological, and social wellbeing. Originally developed to assist veterans to train for and participate in the Invictus Games, the program has extended its scope to promote recovery and wellbeing for all veterans through physical activity. This paper describes the expectations and experiences of the IPP from the perspective of program participants.

METHODS

Objective measures of physical and psychological wellbeing were collected by survey, to enable description of the participating veterans' wellbeing status. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants of the IPP who had not participated in an Invictus Games or Warrior Games. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data. Coding and themes were developed through a mixture of inductive and deductive approaches to analysis. Initial themes related to previous life experience, expectations of participation, and outcomes of participation were preconceived, but the analysis provided scope for an inductive approach to formulate additional themes.

FINDINGS

Five of the participants had very high K10 scores, and scores above the norm for PCL-C, whilst one would be classified with an alcohol disorder. The qualitative analysis identified five higher order themes: Life experiences prior to participation in the IPP, Making a choice to participate in the IPP, Expectations of participation in the IPP, Impact of participation in the IPP, and Future Plans. There were perceptions that the IPP was beneficial for the participating veterans, irrespective of their physical and psychological health status. Participants described the positive impact of the IPP on their physical fitness, their social engagement, and their sense of belonging within the IPP and the university. Participants perceived the IPP to be an opportunity for them to 'give back' by contributing to the education of the students delivering the IPP. Participants reported the intention to continue being physically active. For some, this meant selection in an Invictus Games team, for others, this meant getting involved in community sporting organisations.

CONCLUSION

The Invictus Pathways Program has been shown to have a positive impact on the physical and psychological wellbeing of the veterans who participated in its initial stages. As the program evolves, the longitudinal impact of participation, for veterans and their families, will be assessed.

Volunteering behaviours among UK military Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic and associations with health and well-being

LAY SUMMARY

The COVID-19 pandemic influenced ways in which individuals volunteered and created barriers for participation because of differing restrictions. The research assessing how Veterans volunteer is limited, but there may be aspects of military culture that encourage service to others. The authors investigated volunteering among UK Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic and what factors made Veterans more or less likely to volunteer. The study found that 60% of Veterans had volunteered in the past 12 months, a level similar to that among the UK general population. Overall, Veterans volunteered more often through formal organizations rather than on an informal basis, such as helping individuals such as neighbours. However, in relative terms, levels of formal volunteering decreased and levels of informal volunteering increased during the pandemic. Veterans were more likely to volunteer if they were officers or to increase volunteering if they felt lonely. Veterans who reduced volunteering were more likely to have mental health problems. Understanding volunteering among Veterans may open up more opportunities for participation.

Military Culture and Cultural Competence in Public Health: U.S. Veterans and SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Uptake

As part of the U.S. effort to encourage vaccination for SARS-CoV-2, scholars have emphasized the importance of culture and identity in vaccine uptake decisions. The culture and identity of military service are poorly understood in the context of understanding Veterans’ acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines. In analyzing data from semi-structured interviews with Veterans in homeless transitional housing, this article examines their willingness to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Themes invoking military culture included (a) mandatory vaccinations in the military; (b) cynicism and mistrust toward the government; and (c) trust of and reliance on Veteran peers with shared military culture in decision-making. To further understand how military culture influences vaccine uptake and explore avenues for building culturally competent, trust-based health care interventions with Veterans, a previously published case study of Veterans volunteering in Team Rubicon (TR) disaster relief is examined. Veteran participants in TR described the experience of being in a Veteran-centric organization as an empathetic context wherein they were able to: (a) address their reintegration struggles; (b) gain a new appreciation of their Veteran status; and (c) connect with trusted peers. Given TR’s credibility, Veteran-serving health care organizations could collaborate with Veteran-led organizations to expand shared efforts to address Veterans’ distrust of government-promoted vaccines.