177883 Mental and physical health challenges of veterans returning to college

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Sally A. Koblinsky, PhD , Department of Family Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Nicolle Buckmiller Jones, MS , Department of Family Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Leigh Leslie, PhD , Department of Family Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Kevin M. Roy, PhD , Department of Family Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
The Iraq and Afghanistan wars have created unique challenges for veterans who are returning to college. Extended deployments, combat stress, injuries, and other stressors have placed numerous student veterans in need of physical and mental health services. This study employed focus groups of University of Maryland veterans to determine their mental and physical health issues, and to identify resources and support services that might ease their transition/adjustment to campus life.

A purposive sample of 35 Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans responded to an email query and volunteered to participate in a study of veterans' adjustment to campus. Participants included both sexes (2/3 male) and first-time and continuing students. Veterans participated in one 90+ minute focus group; sessions were recorded, transcribed, and coded with qualitative software for emerging themes. Overall, veterans reported many mental health issues, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, unresolved grief, anxiety, and anger. Physical/combat disabilities were also identified. School-related health challenges included: dealing with trauma symptoms, loneliness, feeling older/different than peers, insensitive questions from students/faculty, classroom environments/assignments that failed to accommodate disabilities, problems accessing campus health services, and difficulties coordinating classes and VA appointments. Strengths included veterans' maturity, self discipline, and coping resources. Veterans proposed numerous health-related strategies, including: training for campus health personnel and faculty/staff on veterans issues; well-publicized, confidential campus mental health services; family counseling services; campus sponsorship of veteran support groups, learning environments that better accommodate disabilities, and other policies/services to improve access and coordination of physical/mental health care. Suggested strategies, policies, and programs will be presented.

Learning Objectives:
1- Explain unique challenges and strengths that returning veteran students bring to the college campus, including mental and physical health issues. 2- Identify ways in which faculty and academic units can support the unique mental and physical health needs of returning veterans. 3- Describe campus support services and policies that will ease the transition of returning veterans to the college/university campus and effectively address their mental and physical health challenges.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Academic researcher of mental health issues; member of University of Maryland Veterans Taskforce; recipient of small grant to explore veterans' adjustment to the university campus; professor and chair, Department of Family Science, University of Maryland School of Public Health
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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