scholarly journals A narrative inquiry into the resettlement of armed forces personnel in the Arabian Gulf: a model for successful transition and positive mental well-being

F1000Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1290
Author(s):  
Richard Mottershead ◽  
Nafi Alonaizi
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Narrative Inquiry ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
Military Retirement ◽  
Employment Needs

Background: The study sought to explore the lived experiences of individuals having served in the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia, as they made the transition to civilian life and sought new employment opportunities.     Methods: Researchers carried out qualitative research in the form of narrative inquiry. Narratives were collected from eleven in-depth interviews conducted in Saudi Arabia in 2021, allowed for insight into participant experiences. Existing literature on military retirement was also investigated. Results: Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed concurrently using thematic analysis to identify patterns or themes. The researchers adopted thematic synthesis as an analytical framework though which descriptive themes from the literature on military retirement were generated. Overall, this approach allowed for the comparison of themes in literature with those of narrative interviews. Conclusion: The study identified challenges encountered by veterans during the resettlement and transitional phase from military to civilian life. There was a general consensus, however, that military life equips individuals with valuable skills that are transferrable to successful post-military employment, known as Positive Transferable Adaptability for Employability (PTAE), (Mottershead, 2019), which can greatly empower those making the transition. These findings led the researchers to develop a new model for veteran career paths that meet the contemporary employment needs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: the REVERE Transition Model, which identifies six career paths.

scholarly journals A narrative inquiry into the resettlement of armed forces personnel in the Arabian Gulf: a model for successful transition and positive mental well-being

F1000Research ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 1290
Author(s):  
Richard Mottershead ◽  
Nafi Alonaizi
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Narrative Inquiry ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
Arabian Gulf ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
Military Retirement ◽  
Employment Needs

Background: The study sought to explore the lived experiences of individuals having served in the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia, as they made the transition to civilian life and sought new employment opportunities.     Methods: Researchers carried out qualitative research in the form of narrative inquiry. Narratives were collected from eleven in-depth interviews conducted in Saudi Arabia in 2021, allowed for insight into participant experiences. Existing literature on military retirement was also investigated. Results: Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed concurrently using thematic analysis to identify patterns or themes. The researchers adopted thematic synthesis as an analytical framework though which descriptive themes from the literature on military retirement were generated. Overall, this approach allowed for the comparison of themes in literature with those of narrative interviews. Conclusion: The study identified challenges encountered by veterans during the resettlement and transitional phase from military to civilian life. There was a general consensus, however, that military life equips individuals with valuable skills that are transferrable to successful post-military employment, known as Positive Transferable Adaptability for Employability (PTAE), (Mottershead, 2019), which can greatly empower those making the transition. These findings led the researchers to develop a new model for veteran career paths that meet the contemporary employment needs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: the REVERE Transition Model, which identifies six career paths.

scholarly journals ‘It’s Like Therapy But More Fun’ Armed Forces and Veterans’ Breakfast Clubs: A Study of Their Emergence as Veterans’ Self-Help Communities

2020 ◽  
pp. 136078042090584
Author(s):  
Jim McDermott
Keyword(s):  
Military Service ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mutual Support ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Self Help ◽  
Support Organizations ◽  
Short Period

The armed forces veterans’ support sector is vast and, some would argue, overprovided for. At a time when some long-established ex-armed forces support organizations appear to be losing members, Armed Forces and Veterans’ Breakfast Clubs (AFVBCs) continue to grow. This article examines this phenomenon arguing that AFVBCs, which are organized in a somewhat unconventional way, provide a safe domain for veterans to reminisce, provide mutual support with others who share the same experiences, and understand military service and the difficulties of transition to civilian life, all factors which contribute to their well-being. They enable the generation and protection of military identity which is highly salient and prominent for many veterans. This study sees AFVBCs as a veteran’s self-help community which can also provide a focus for those responsible for implementing the Armed Forces Covenant. A total of 250 veterans contributed to this study, the majority being those who ‘do well’ in civilian life but with a minority who suffer in some way and need help. Veterans attending AFVBCs come from all branches of the armed forces, some having served for a short period and others a full career. Data were collected face-to-face at one AFVBC, from a study of online testimonials, conversations with the AFVBC founder and an online survey.

scholarly journals Military Veterans and Welfare Reform: Bridging Two Policy Worlds through Qualitative Longitudinal Research

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Lisa Scullion ◽  
Katy Jones ◽  
Peter Dwyer ◽  
Celia Hynes ◽  
Philip Martin
Keyword(s):  
Welfare Reform ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Military Veterans ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Veterans Affairs ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Uk

There has been an increasing focus in the UK on the support provided to the Armed Forces community, with the publication of the Armed Forces Covenant (2011), the Strategy for our Veterans (2018) and the first ever Office for Veterans’ Affairs (2019). There is also an important body of research – including longitudinal research – focusing on transitions from military to civilian life, much of which is quantitative. At the same time, the UK has witnessed a period of unprecedented welfare reform. However, research focused on veterans’ interactions with the social security system has been largely absent. This article draws on the authors’ experiences of undertaking qualitative longitudinal research (QLR) to address this knowledge gap. We reflect on how QLR was essential in engaging policy makers enabling the research to bridge the two parallel policy worlds of veterans’ support and welfare reform, leading to significant policy and practice impact.

Mental well-being interventions in the military: The ten key principles

2021 ◽  
pp. bmjmilitary-2020-001740
Author(s):  
Erin G Lawrence ◽  
N Jones ◽  
N Greenberg ◽  
N T Fear ◽  
S Wessely ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Mental Health Interventions ◽  
External Training ◽  
The Military ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
Single Versus

Organisations including the United Kingdom Armed Forces should seek to implement mental health interventions to increase the psychological well-being of their workforce. This editorial briefly presents ten key principles that military forces should consider before implementing such interventions. These include job-focused training; evaluating interventions; the use of internal versus external training providers; the role of leaders; unit cohesion, single versus multiple session psychological interventions; not overgeneralising the applicability of interventions; the need for repeated skills practice; raising awareness and the fallibility of screening.

scholarly journals The Lifestyle of Saudi Medical Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 7869
Author(s):  
Khalid A. Bin Abdulrahman ◽  
Ahmad M. Khalaf ◽  
Fahad B. Bin Abbas ◽  
Omran T. Alanezi
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Fast Food ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Male Students ◽  
Drinking Patterns ◽  
Cross Sectional

This study was conducted to investigate medical students’ lifestyle habits, including sleep quality, eating and drinking patterns, physical activity, and social status. Method: This research project is part two of a multi-institutional cross-sectional observational study conducted among medical students from six medical colleges in Saudi Arabia between September and December 2019. Results: 675 medical students were enrolled electively into the lifestyle study. About half of this number were male students and the majority were aged 18–24 years. Most students (87.6%) slept between 4–8 h a day and over 44% were dissatisfied with their sleep. Only 28.1% had three meals a day; about 40% of them usually or always skipped breakfast. A total of 44% usually or always ate fast food and 44.7% drank 2 L of water per day. Moreover, male students were significantly consuming more fast food than females, p < 0.001. The majority (63.3%) revealed they usually or always drink black coffee daily. Females were significantly more inclined to regular coffee consumption than males, p < 0.001. Only 4.3% exercised for 30 min or more daily. The majority (65%) of the students were introverted; they had few close friends. Yet, 81% were somewhat satisfied or satisfied with their social life. Male students were significantly more satisfied with their social life than females, p = 0.001. Only 4.6% smoked cigarettes daily whereas 7.1% smoked e-cigarettes daily. In contrast, only 0.3% used shisha (hookah) daily. Male medical students were substantially more inclined to e-cigarette use than females (p < 0.001). The top five leisure activities of a medical student were surfing social media (75.9%), watching movies (61.3%), hanging out with friends (58.1%), spending time with their family (55.4%), and browsing the Internet (53.6%). Female medical students were significantly more inclined to surf social media than male medical students, p = 0.022; also, watching movies was preferred for females compared to males, p = 0.006. Conclusion: This study revealed that the majority of these medical students in Saudi Arabia exhibited healthy lifestyles to some extent, and these health-promoting behaviors differed based on sex, especially concerning physical activity and eating patterns. The findings of this study provide relevant information for future actions that will be geared towards effectively decreasing the occurrence of chronic illnesses and improving future doctors’ well-being.

Academia and Motherhood: A Narrative Inquiry of Ontario Academic Mothers’ Experiences in University Graduate Programs

2021 ◽  
pp. 0192513X2110648
Author(s):  
Kimberly M. Hillier
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Inquiry ◽  
Gender Equity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Graduate Studies ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Embodied Experiences ◽  
Life Issues

This research provides a qualitative narrative inquiry into the experiences of academic mothers from a Southwestern Ontario university campus. Analysis of the semi-structured interviews and focus groups reveal six key themes regarding the nexus between motherhood and academia: (1) intersection of work and family; (2) embodied experiences of pregnancy; (3) mentoring and networking opportunities; (4) inconsistencies between institutional and program policies; (5) departmental support; and (6) an overall level of satisfaction in being a mother during graduate studies. These key findings are discussed and highlight some of the challenges associated with balancing motherhood, graduate studies, and family life. Issues related to maternal well-being, gender equity, diversity, and inclusion within academia are also discussed and shed light on the experiences of this increasing, yet largely overlooked demographic on Canadian university campuses.

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