Social isolation and loneliness of UK veterans: a Delphi study.
Delphi
loneliness
military
social isolation
veteran
Journal
Occupational medicine (Oxford, England)
ISSN: 1471-8405
Titre abrégé: Occup Med (Lond)
Pays: England
ID NLM: 9205857
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
09 Sep 2020
09 Sep 2020
Historique:
pubmed:
1
7
2020
medline:
3
6
2021
entrez:
30
6
2020
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Evidence increasingly acknowledges the impact of social isolation and loneliness on the lives of military veterans and the wider Armed Forces Community. The study gathered expert consensus to (i) understand if veterans are considered 'unique' in their experiences of social isolation and loneliness; (ii) examine perceived factors leading to social isolation and loneliness of veterans; (iii) identify ways to tackle veterans' social isolation and loneliness. This study adopted a three-phase Delphi method. Phase 1 utilized a qualitative approach and Phase 2 and Phase 3 utilized a mixed-methods approach. Several outcomes were identified across the three phases. Transition out of the military was viewed as a period to build emotional resilience and raise awareness of relevant services. It was also concluded that veterans would benefit from integrating into services within the wider community, and that social prescribing services could be a vehicle to link veterans to relevant services. Furthermore, access to, and the content of, programmes was also of importance. These findings illustrate various important interventional aspects to consider when funding and implementing programmes focussed on tackling social isolation and loneliness.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
BACKGROUND
Evidence increasingly acknowledges the impact of social isolation and loneliness on the lives of military veterans and the wider Armed Forces Community.
AIMS
OBJECTIVE
The study gathered expert consensus to (i) understand if veterans are considered 'unique' in their experiences of social isolation and loneliness; (ii) examine perceived factors leading to social isolation and loneliness of veterans; (iii) identify ways to tackle veterans' social isolation and loneliness.
METHODS
METHODS
This study adopted a three-phase Delphi method. Phase 1 utilized a qualitative approach and Phase 2 and Phase 3 utilized a mixed-methods approach.
RESULTS
RESULTS
Several outcomes were identified across the three phases. Transition out of the military was viewed as a period to build emotional resilience and raise awareness of relevant services. It was also concluded that veterans would benefit from integrating into services within the wider community, and that social prescribing services could be a vehicle to link veterans to relevant services. Furthermore, access to, and the content of, programmes was also of importance.
CONCLUSIONS
CONCLUSIONS
These findings illustrate various important interventional aspects to consider when funding and implementing programmes focussed on tackling social isolation and loneliness.
Identifiants
pubmed: 32596734
pii: 5864575
doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqaa105
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
407-414Subventions
Organisme : Medical Research Council
ID : MR/K02325X/1
Pays : United Kingdom
Informations de copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.