Abstract
Objective
To assess the effect of a veteran-oriented community agricultural initiative on transitioning
rural veterans.
Design
Convergent mixed-method program evaluation.
Setting
Veteran-oriented farm-to-market community agricultural initiative.
Participants
Veterans (N=43) who were members of the community agricultural initiative.
Main Outcome Measures
Health, well-being, and reintegration were assessed by self-reported data from interviews,
a demographic survey, a validated health quality of life measure (Veterans RAND-12
[VR-12]), a validated reintegration measure (Military to Civilian Questionnaire),
and a general satisfaction survey.
Results
Veteran participants were primarily white (88.4%, n=38) and men (74.4%, n=32), and
most had a service-connected disability rating (58.2%, n=25). Qualitative and quantitative
data revealed that the veterans participating in this community agricultural initiative
experienced health and reintegration benefits. Results on the Military to Civilian
Questionnaire, VR-12, and satisfaction survey suggest that participating in this community
agricultural initiative contributed to improved mental, physical, and emotional health
and vocational skills, community connectedness, and interpersonal communication. Qualitative
interviews supported quantitative findings and revealed that participating in the
community agricultural initiative provided veterans with a sense of satisfaction,
a sense of belonging, and helped decrease the stigma surrounding their veteran status.
Conclusions
Veterans who participate in this community agricultural initiative reported general
improvements in physical and mental health, including improvements in sleep, nutrition,
and exercise, and decreases in anxiety, pain, depression, and medication and substance
use, all known factors which effect veteran reintegration.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
CR (community reintegration), PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder), VA (Department of Veterans Affairs), VHA (Veterans Health Administration), VR-12 (Veterans RAND-12), VR-36 (Veterans RAND-36)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 24, 2017
Footnotes
Supported by the VA ORH (grant no. N42-FY15Q1-S2-P01509) and with resources and the use of facilities at the Center of Innovation on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, James A. Haley Veteran's Affairs Hospital, Tampa, FL.
Contents do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the U.S. Government.
Publication of this article was supported by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine
