scholarly journals Veteran Status Matters! Life Course Perspectives on the Health and Well-Being of Aging Veterans

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 636-636
Author(s):  
Avron Spiro
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Vietnam Veterans ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Combat Veterans ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Veterans Health ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Veteran Status ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Military service during early life can result in exposure to traumatic events that can reverberate throughout life. Although much attention is focused on the negative effects of military service, many veterans report positive effects. These papers explore life course effects of military service on veterans’ health and well-being. Three used national US longitudinal cohorts (HRS, MIDUS); two sampled veterans from Oregon or from Korea. Three compared veterans to non-veterans; two examined veterans only. Cheng and colleagues found that veterans in HRS are more likely to be risk-averse than non-veterans. Risk aversion matters because it determines how people make decisions and predicts a wide array of health and economic outcomes. Kurth and colleagues examined Oregon veterans from several wars, finding PTSD symptoms were highest among Vietnam combat veterans, the oldest cohort; there were no differences among non-combat veterans. Piazza and colleagues examined in MIDUS the impact of veteran status on cortisol, a stress biomarker, finding older veterans more likely had non-normative patterns than did younger or non-veterans. Lee and colleagues studied patterns of mental health among Korean Vietnam veterans, identifying two patterns as ‘normal’ and ‘resilient’ encompassing half the sample; these veterans demonstrated positive outcomes of military service. Frochen and colleagues compared depression trajectories between veterans and non-veterans in HRS, finding veterans had less depression than non-veterans, but among veterans, trajectories varied based on extent of service. in sum, these papers demonstrate that military service can have positive as well as negative effects on veterans’ health and well-being in later life. Aging Veterans: Effects of Military Service across the Life Course Interest Group Sponsored Symposium.

scholarly journals The impact of military service on health and well-being

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Williamson ◽  
J Diehle ◽  
R Dunn ◽  
N Jones ◽  
N Greenberg
Keyword(s):  
Military Service ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being

scholarly journals The impact of life course exposures to neighbourhood deprivation on health and well-being: a review of the long-term neighbourhood effects literature

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 922-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Jivraj ◽  
Emily T Murray ◽  
Paul Norman ◽  
Owen Nicholas
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Health Improvement ◽  
Neighbourhood Effects ◽  
Neighbourhood Deprivation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract Background In this review article, we detail a small but growing literature in the field of health geography that uses longitudinal data to determine a life course component to the neighbourhood effects thesis. For too long, there has been reliance on cross-sectional data to test the hypothesis that where you live has an effect on your health and well-being over and above your individual circumstances. Methods We identified 53 articles that demonstrate how neighbourhood deprivation measured at least 15 years prior affects health and well-being later in life using the databases Scopus and Web of Science. Results We find a bias towards US studies, the most common being the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Definition of neighbourhood and operationalization of neighbourhood deprivation across most of the included articles relied on data availability rather than a priori hypothesis. Conclusions To further progress neighbourhood effects research, we suggest that more data linkage to longitudinal datasets is required beyond the narrow list identified in this review. The limited literature published to date suggests an accumulation of exposure to neighbourhood deprivation over the life course is damaging to later life health, which indicates improving neighbourhoods as early in life as possible would have the greatest public health improvement.

scholarly journals Playwork in prison as a mechanism to support family health and well-being

2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 842-852
Author(s):  
James Woodall ◽  
Karina Kinsella
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Health ◽  
Prison Population ◽  
Family Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Family Outcomes ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being

Objective: The health of the prison population is of increasing concern, given the disproportionate rates of ill health in this population. Moreover, the challenges faced by prisoners’ families and their children are also becoming more apparent, with prisoners’ children being more likely than other children to experience mental and emotional health problems and more likely to go to prison themselves. Prison visits are an integral part of institutional structures and are a key way by which families stay in contact and mitigate against the negative effects of family separation. This paper focuses particularly on the impact of prison play visits as an alternative to ‘standard’ visiting procedures. Design: Cross-sectional qualitative study. Setting: A male prison in Northern England. Method: Telephone interviews with six prison visitors who had regularly participated in a play visit, plus a focus group with five prisoners. Results: The paper identifies play visits as a useful way to maintain family well-being as they ‘mimic’, albeit temporarily, domestic life. This is reported to be beneficial for future family outcomes and in enabling children to adjust to parental incarceration. Play visits improve levels of intimacy, which is beneficial for the mental and emotional health of both prisoners and their children. Conclusion: The paper argues for a more holistic notion of prisoner health that sees family connections as a key part of supporting health and well-being.

Critical analysis of the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust Aged Veterans Fund

2021 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001716
Author(s):  
Lisa C G Di Lemma ◽  
A Finnegan ◽  
S Howe
Keyword(s):  
Military Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Collaborative Partnerships ◽  
Admission Rates ◽  
High Satisfaction ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being

BackgroundRelatively little research is available regarding the specific needs of older military veterans and the services introduced to support them. In 2016, the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust launched the Aged Veterans Fund (AVF), to understand the impact that military service may have on ageing, and to support initiatives targeting their health and well-being. This fund was financed for 5 years and included 19 UK portfolio projects.MethodThe paper presents a retrospective evaluation on the processes and impact of the AVF, with the intent of informing policy, educational services, service providers and stakeholders of the lessons learnt. The inclusion criteria was veterans and their families aged 65 years of age or over. In 2019, data were drawn from documentary evidence related to the programmes. Qualitative analysis were performed on 78 eligible sources and 10 themes were identified.ResultsProgrammes were rolled out via collaborative partnerships referrals, focusing on person-centred or skill-exchange approaches. Challenges were encountered, such as capacity and timelines issues. A limited amount of associated cost-savings was observed, even if examples of sustainability and high satisfaction were reported. Evidence was found of programmes boosting health and well-being outcomes, in raising awareness, and in positively impacting on clinical practice, such as re-admission rates.ConclusionThe AVF programmes were successful in their intent to provide support to older veterans and their families. The findings provide indicators of the next steps required for the support of ageing veterans. Further investigation of the cost-effectiveness of age-friendly veterans’ services is needed.

scholarly journals Coping With COVID: Does Prior Military Service Play a Role for Vietnam Veterans?

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 131-131
Author(s):  
Jeanne Stellman ◽  
Steven Stellman ◽  
Anica Kaiser ◽  
Avron Spiro ◽  
Brian Smith
Keyword(s):  
Vietnam Veterans ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Combat Veterans ◽  
Combat Exposure ◽  
Military Experience ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Military Combat

Abstract We investigated the impact of earlier military combat on ability to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic in 379 male Vietnam veterans who responded to surveys in 1984, 1998, and 2020. Combat exposure was scored with a validated scale, contrasting lowest tertile (8-15) vs. medium/high (16-40). About one-fourth of veterans (26%) reported that their military experience made it easier to cope with the pandemic, while over half (59%) said it had no effect. Medium/high-combat veterans were more likely to report that their military experience made coping easier (OR = 1.8, p = 0.03), but were less likely to report no effect of service on their coping than low-combat veterans (OR = 0.40, p<0.001). All 19 respondents (5%) who said military experience made coping more difficult were medium/high combat veterans. Military experience, and combat particularly, affected many of these veterans’ ability to cope with the pandemic decades after their service.

Adversity during military service: the impact of military sexual trauma, emotional bullying and physical assault on the mental health and well-being of women veterans

2021 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2021-001948
Author(s):  
Laura Josephine Hendrikx ◽  
V Williamson ◽  
D Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sexual Assault ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Women Veterans ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Physical Assault ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being

IntroductionDespite making up about 11% of the UK military, there remains limited investigation on the impact of adversity women experience during their service in the UK military. Military adversity can result in a range of well-being difficulties that may persist following transition out of military. The present study therefore examined the prevalence and correlates of different types of military adversity (defined as sexual harassment, sexual assault, emotional bullying and physical assault) within a community sample of UK women veterans.MethodsParticipants were recruited from a UK charity supporting women veterans. 750 women veterans completed an online survey collecting information on sociodemographic and military factors, military adversity, as well as mental health and well-being difficulties. Associations between variables were explored using multivariate logistic regressions.ResultsThe findings indicate a high prevalence of military adversity (22.5% sexual harassment, 5.1% sexual assault, 22.7% emotional bullying and 3.3% physical assault). Younger women, those who held an officer rank during service and those who reported having a combat or combat support role during service were most at risk of military adversity. All types of adversity were significantly associated with probable post-traumatic stress disorder. Sexual harassment was additionally significantly associated with physical somatisation; sexual assault with alcohol difficulties; and emotional bullying with common mental health difficulties, low social support and loneliness.ConclusionsThis study indicates that UK women veterans are at risk of a range of adverse experiences during military service and provides evidence of the impact of such adversities on mental health and well-being. Further research is required to better understand these relationships.

Physical Social Capital and Psychosocial Social Capital as Mediators Between Socio-economic Inequality and Expressions of Well-being and Health in Israeli Kibbutz Populations

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uriel Leviatan
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Relative Deprivation ◽  
Economic Inequality ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Psychological Sense ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Health And Well Being

A large number of studies show that degree of socio-economic inequality ‘within’ a social entity negatively determines levels of well-being and life expectancy, and is positively associated with morbidity and mortality. This relationship holds over and above the impact of average income level. This initially suggested model put forward a causal flow with mediating variables of ‘relative deprivation’ and followed it up with the expressions of ‘social capital’ in the social psychological sense. This article tests, besides these, the role of an additional (relatively little referred to) mediating set of variables between economic inequality and measures of well-being and health, namely levels of physical investments by society (physical social capital [PHSC]) for fulfilling its individual members’ needs. It is proposed that the higher the level of inequality, the lower would be a society’s investments in PHSC (such as in education, health services, job creation, ecology conservation, public transportation and the like) that contribute to health, well-being and survival. The proposition is tested out in two kinds of kibbutz communities: one, ‘traditional’ with strong adherence to social and economic equality among members; and another, ‘transformed’ kibbutzim, where salaries are differential and are based on position or occupation. The two groups of kibbutzim were roughly equated on size, years since settlement, political belonging, economic standing and geographical location. Findings show that the degree of inequality is associated with the level of both psychosocial social capital and PHSC, which in turn contribute independently and cumulatively to levels of peoples’ health and well-being. Transformed kibbutzim are seen as an expression of neoliberal ideology results in the negative effects on health and well-being of individuals and their communities.

Challenges and opportunities for the affective sciences.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Fox ◽  
Regina Lapate ◽  
Alexander J. Shackman ◽  
Richard J Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
Core Feature ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Improved Methods ◽  
Health And Well Being

Emotion is a core feature of the human condition, with profound consequences for health, wealth, and wellbeing. Over the past quarter-century, improved methods for manipulating and measuring different features of emotion have yielded steady advances in our scientific understanding emotional states, traits, and disorders. Yet, it is clear that most of the work remains undone. Here, we highlight key challenges facing the field of affective sciences. Addressing these challenges will provide critical opportunities not just for understanding the mind, but also for increasing the impact of the affective sciences on public health and well-being.

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