Other Titles
Rising Star Poster/Presentation - Rapid Presentation Round
Abstract
The Veterans reside in a unique environment influenced by past military experiences that may have positive and negative effects on their well-being as Veterans. With nearly half of the 18.4 million Veterans in the United States living beyond 61 years the physical and mental health conditions may desolate the Veterans’ well-being. Promoting Veterans’ well-being has been studied extensively but scant research has been done on the environmental influences and how it helps to define It is critical to understand how Veterans define well-being to inform future program development addressing mental health needs. The purpose of this study is to discover the meaning and the lived experience of well-being among Veterans.
A qualitative hermeneutic interpretative phenomenological approach was used to understand the meaning of Veterans’ well-being and the environmental stimulus effect. It allowed the phenomena to surface while exposing the essence of the Veterans’ experiences. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants, with semi-structured interviews via ZOOM and observations at Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs).
Fourteen Veterans participated in this study, 8 males and 6 females with majority greater than 61 years. Sixty-four percent were White, 21 % Hispanic and 15 % African American. With the use of Max van Manen’s analysis strategy, 7 major themes emerged: (1) A Connection With A Special Bond To The Military Sisterhood/Brotherhood, (2) The Lingering Effects Of Military Service Continue To Simmer In Veteran Life, (3) Feeling Grateful/Prideful Through Appreciation For Their Military Service, (4) Healthy Companionships/Relationships With Mutual Respect Yield Veteran Equilibrium, (5) Creating A Veteran Framily/Fraternity, (6) Self-fulfilment By Giving Back And Making A Life With A Purpose and (7) Veterans Living A Healthy Life Caring For Self.
The lingering effects persist and challenge the Veterans’ emotional well-being; however, they were able express that creating a healthy environment through activities based on social relationships supporting military camaraderie helped to promote their well-being in Veteran life.
Notes
Presenter notes available in slide deck.
References: Grenawalt, T., Lu, J., Hamner, K., Gill, C. & Umucu, E. (2023). Social isolation and well-being in veterans with mental illness. Journal of Mental Health, 32(2), 407-411.Mahat-Shamir, M., Lebowitz, K., & Hamama-Raz, Y. (2022). “You did not desert me my brothers in arms”: The continuing bond experience of men who have lost a brother in arms. Death Studies, 46(2), 415–424.
Vogt, D., King, M. W., Borowshi, S., Finley, E. P., Perkins, D. F. & Copeland, L. A. (2020). Applied Psychology Health and Well-being, 13, 341-356.
Williamson, V., Harwood, H., Greenberg, K., Stevelink, A. M., & Greenberg, N. (2019). Impact of military service on physical health later in life: a qualitative study of geriatric UK veterans and non-veterans. British Medical Journal, 9(7), 1–8.
Yang, M. S., Quach, L., Lee, L. O., Spiro III, A. & Burr, J. A. (2022). Subjective well-being among male veterans in later life: enduring effect of early life adversity. Aging & Mental Health, 26(1), 107-115.
Sigma Membership
Iota Xi at-Large
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Phenomenology
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Keywords:
Veterans -- Psychosocial Factors, Psychological Well-Being, Environmental Experiences
Recommended Citation
Birmingham, Cheryl L., "Veterans’ Living To Create Healthy Environments And The Meaning Of Their Well-being: A Phenomenological Inquiry" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 31.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2024/presentations_2024/31
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2024
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-02-16
Veterans’ Living To Create Healthy Environments And The Meaning Of Their Well-being: A Phenomenological Inquiry
Washington, DC, USA
The Veterans reside in a unique environment influenced by past military experiences that may have positive and negative effects on their well-being as Veterans. With nearly half of the 18.4 million Veterans in the United States living beyond 61 years the physical and mental health conditions may desolate the Veterans’ well-being. Promoting Veterans’ well-being has been studied extensively but scant research has been done on the environmental influences and how it helps to define It is critical to understand how Veterans define well-being to inform future program development addressing mental health needs. The purpose of this study is to discover the meaning and the lived experience of well-being among Veterans.
A qualitative hermeneutic interpretative phenomenological approach was used to understand the meaning of Veterans’ well-being and the environmental stimulus effect. It allowed the phenomena to surface while exposing the essence of the Veterans’ experiences. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants, with semi-structured interviews via ZOOM and observations at Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs).
Fourteen Veterans participated in this study, 8 males and 6 females with majority greater than 61 years. Sixty-four percent were White, 21 % Hispanic and 15 % African American. With the use of Max van Manen’s analysis strategy, 7 major themes emerged: (1) A Connection With A Special Bond To The Military Sisterhood/Brotherhood, (2) The Lingering Effects Of Military Service Continue To Simmer In Veteran Life, (3) Feeling Grateful/Prideful Through Appreciation For Their Military Service, (4) Healthy Companionships/Relationships With Mutual Respect Yield Veteran Equilibrium, (5) Creating A Veteran Framily/Fraternity, (6) Self-fulfilment By Giving Back And Making A Life With A Purpose and (7) Veterans Living A Healthy Life Caring For Self.
The lingering effects persist and challenge the Veterans’ emotional well-being; however, they were able express that creating a healthy environment through activities based on social relationships supporting military camaraderie helped to promote their well-being in Veteran life.
Description
The Veterans are a distinct community partial to their past military involvement which can be emotionally and/or physically constructive or destructive to their well-being. It is crucial to define environmental experiences that help to promote Veteran well-being. Programs that endorse Veteran well-being need to be established.