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Military Veterans

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Military veterans—individuals who complete military service whether at home or deployed overseas, in peacetime or in combat—are entitled to and in some cases require various government services. RAND research has examined the physical and mental health, interpersonal relationships, and employment problems that U.S. military veterans and their families face, and has recommended policies to support veterans' reintegration into civilian life.

Essay

More Can Be Done to Save Veterans from Suicide

Nov 4, 2019

A decade of research at RAND has sought to focus the national conversation about suicide in general, and veteran suicide in particular, around solutions that work. The overwhelming message: We could do more to save the lives of veterans like Daniel Somers. Here is his story.
Essay

How Private Health Care Providers Could Better Serve Veterans

Nov 7, 2018

Almost a third of U.S. veterans live 40 miles or more from the nearest VA medical center, so the VA is trying to make it easier for them to use private providers closer to home. But it will take significant efforts to better prepare civilian doctors to deliver high-quality care to veterans.

Explore Military Veterans

Research Brief

The RAND Toolkit for Improving Programs that Address Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury

The four-part RAND toolkit is designed to help those overseeing portfolios of multiple programs understand, evaluate, and improve program performance. This research brief describes the purpose of each part.

Jan 8, 2014
Report

A Systematic Process to Facilitate Evidence-Informed Decisionmaking Regarding Program Expansion: The RAND Toolkit, Volume 3

Despite supporting more than 200 psychological health and traumatic brain injury programs, the Department of Defense lacks a way to develop, track, and assess the performance of this portfolio. RAND researchers developed a toolkit to support decision-making regarding continued program support and expansion.

Jan 8, 2014
Report

The Development and Application of the RAND Program Classification Tool: The RAND Toolkit, Volume 1

The RAND Program Classification Tool is an instrument containing questions and response options across eight key domains that allows for the consistent description of programs in the same content area. Such data can help program portfolio managers compare programs, avoid duplication, and target technical assistance.

Jan 8, 2014
Journal Article

Survey Finds Veterans Satisfied with Mental Health and Substance Use Care, but Also See Room for Improvement

A survey of more than 5,000 U.S. veterans receiving mental health services from the Veterans Health Administration found general satisfaction, but also significant room for improvement among all areas studied. Patients with a substance use disorder were less satisfied than others and were less likely to report that staff listened to them or respected their decisions.

Jan 1, 2014
Journal Article

Journal Article

Huddle Up! The Adoption and Use of Structured Team Communication for VA Medical Home Implementation

In order to improve the impact of huddles on patient care, practice leaders should clearly communicate the goals, requirements, and benefits of huddling and provide adequate time and resources to ensure that frontline teams use huddle time to improve patient care.

Jan 1, 2014
Journal Article

Journal Article

Prevalence of Mental Health Problems Among Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Who Have and Have Not Received VA Services

This study assessed probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among OEF/OIF veterans by receipt of VHA services.

Jan 1, 2014
Journal Article

A Patient-Centered Primary Care Practice Approach Using Evidence-Based Quality Improvement: Rationale, Methods, and Early Assessment of Implementation

Healthcare systems and their primary care practices are redesigning to achieve goals identified in Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) models such as Veterans Affairs (VA)'s Patient Aligned Care Teams (PACT).

Jan 1, 2014
Report

Understanding the Cost and Quality of Military-Related Education Benefit Programs

Issues such as rising tuition costs, an increasing numbers of for-profit institutions that target veterans, and a potentially confusing array of benefit options could mitigate the impact of financial aid benefits designed to help veterans attend college.

Dec 24, 2013
News Release

News Release

Contractors Who Worked in Conflict Zones Suffer High Rates of PTSD, Depression and Get Little Help

Private contractors who worked in Iraq, Afghanistan or other conflict environments over the past two years report suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression more often than military personnel who served in recent conflicts. Relatively few get help either before or after deployment.

Dec 10, 2013
Report

Contractors Who Worked in Conflict Zones Suffer High Rates of PTSD and Depression and Get Little Help

Private contractors who worked in Iraq, Afghanistan or other conflict environments over the past two years report suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression more often than military personnel who served in recent conflicts. Relatively few get help either before or after deployment.

Dec 9, 2013
Commentary

An Inexpensive Prescription for Medicare

If Congress wants to save Medicare, it can start by driving waste and excess out of the system. This can be done without impoverishing patients or driving doctors out of business, if physicians are willing to practice smarter, more efficient medicine. Spending on prescription drugs is a case in point.

Nov 18, 2013
Commentary

They Also Serve: Understanding the Needs of Military Caregivers

Military families play a critical role in supporting U.S. servicemembers during deployment and afterwards. Equally vital but often less visible is the role played by those who care for the servicemembers who return with disabling injuries or illnesses and require long-term support beyond what the formal health care system provides.

Nov 18, 2013
Commentary

Post-9/11 GI Bill: A Good Investment in Our Veterans Can Be Better

To better tailor the benefits to the actual needs of veterans, it is important to determine how much the implementation has really improved, and if there are lessons that can be drawn to improve future initiatives. Of critical concern is whether veterans have the information they need to take the best advantage of their GI Bill benefits.

Nov 8, 2013
Solution

Addressing the Invisible Wounds of War

Before 2007, little was known about how the availability of behavioral health services compared with the need among returning troops—or about the consequences to the nation if these needs were not met.

Oct 10, 2013
Journal Article

Journal Article

Operating Characteristics of the PTSD Checklist in a Military Primary Care Setting

The PTSD Checklist–Civilian Version (PCL-C; Weathers, Litz, Herman, Huska, & Keane, 1993) is used for the identification of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Sep 1, 2013
Report

Supporting Employers in the Reserve Operational Forces Era

What are the legal protections provided by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), what obligations do they impose on employers, and what are the areas of ambiguity? To what extent do employers understand their obligations under USERRA?

Aug 22, 2013
Report

Report

Supporting Employers in the Reserve Operational Forces Era: Appendixes

This report describes an analysis of current employment rights protections for Reserve Component members and related support programs and makes recommendations stemming from that analysis.

Aug 22, 2013
Research Brief

Research Brief

Supporting Employers of Reserve Component Members

This brief details research finding that laws addressing employer obligations in the event of an employee's military duty–related absence are clear but that employer knowledge of obligations and where to go for help in fulfilling them is incomplete.

Aug 22, 2013
Report

The Role and Importance of the 'D' in PTSD

U.S. Army leadership requested that the word “disorder” be removed from “posttraumatic stress disorder” but the APA voted to retain it. Few studies demonstrate stigmatization among U.S. military service members with PTSD or measure the extent to which PTSD-related social stigma reduces the utilization of treatment.

Aug 21, 2013
Report

Report

Ensuring Language Capability in the Intelligence Community: What Factors Affect the Best Mix of Military, Civilians, and Contractors?

Draws on interviews, academic literature, and an exploratory quantitative analysis to identify factors that affect the cost-effectiveness of military, government, and contractor personnel in providing language capability in the intelligence community.

Aug 1, 2013

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RAND Topic:
Military Veterans

Topic Synonyms:
War Veteran

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