No Man's Land - research study to explore the experience & needs of women veterans
Abstract: The overall aim of this ethnographic study was to obtain detailed information that illustrated the lived experience of women veterans. The women involved were keen influence the future development of services that could meet the multiple and complex needs of women veterans during and after military service. The aim is to empower women veterans and give them a voice by which they can share their experiences, whilst generating a meaningful discussion around service improvement. It recommends the implementation of practical solutions to improve health and social care support after military service, system change within the military and a rigorous review of current practice in response to complaints and investigations.
Abstract: U.S. Air Force remotely piloted aircraft (USAF RPA) personnel face diverse stressors negatively affecting psychological health and military readiness. Prior research in diverse populations supports predictable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on occupational stressors, burnout, and more distal outcomes. Extending earlier studies linking broad variables (e.g., COVID-19 threat → work stress → burnout), the current study tests and refines an expanded mediation model based on multiple distinct pandemic concerns, occupational stressors, and burnout facets as antecedents of psychological distress mid-pandemic in RPA personnel (N = 496). Differential representation of demands, resources, and rewards evident across distinct occupational stressors in light of job demands/resources theory guided specification of mediated pathways. SEM analysis yielded moderate fit. Following removal of non-significant paths and addition of two interpretable direct paths, fit was improved, yielding seven dominant pandemic concern → occupational stressor → burnout → psychological distress pathways. In support of domain specification, five 'hub' variables (pandemic-driven change, personal stressors, workload, leader communication, and exhaustion) emerged as key intervention targets in mitigating distress in the USAF RPA community and similar populations during future pandemic-related crises.