Co‐Design of an Ecosystem of Services to Support Veteran Well‐Being and Reduce Excessive Alcohol Consumption

TL;DR

This study co-designed a program with veterans and health professionals to support veterans' well-being and reduce alcohol use during their transition to civilian life.

Contribution

The study introduces a co-design approach involving veterans and professionals to create a well-being ecosystem targeting excessive alcohol consumption.

Findings

The program should address mental, physical, social/family, and spiritual well-being, along with finding meaningful work.

Additional themes included managing loss of identity, addressing stigma, and creating connected services for veterans.

Practical recommendations include early prevention, in-service support, and ongoing post-service assistance through a network of services.

Abstract

Alcohol consumption among veterans has been shown to be higher than that among the general population. Many veterans experience difficulties during the transition to post‐service life, and alcohol is used as a coping mechanism. Excessive alcohol use leads to a significant decrease in mental health, quality of life and social functioning, further exacerbating veteran's readjustment to civilian life after service.

This study aimed to co‐design a transition programme to reduce problematic alcohol use. The objectives were to (1) understand which life domains need to be considered within programmes to support successful transition without harmful alcohol consumption and (2) co‐design a transition programme with New Zealand veterans (and service providers) to avoid harmful alcohol consumption.

This study offers a novel approach to the development of programmes to reduce excessive alcohol consumption by veterans through the use of a participatory design method. The study involved four co‐design workshops with veterans and Defence health professionals, in Aotearoa‐New Zealand, and abductive analysis of qualitative data. The analysis compared perspectives obtained from veterans and health professionals with existing well‐being and transition frameworks.

Findings supported recommendations within those frameworks for strategies to support mental, physical, social/family and spiritual well‐being, as well as finding meaningful work or employment. Themes emerged beyond those frameworks, including a need for programmes to manage loss of identity; lack of trust, scepticism and stigma; and a desire for connected records and networked services.

The research offers practical recommendations for a co‐designed veteran well‐being ecosystem. This involved early prevention, in‐service elements and ongoing support through transition and in post‐service life. This was supported with the suggestion for a network of services that is promoted well and makes it easy for veterans to identify services that can increase their feeling of competence as they navigate transition.

This study used a co‐design process that engaged veterans and Defence health professionals in the design of a programme and programme elements that they would like to see for veterans like themselves or veterans they have encountered in practice.

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