Transcript Download (PPT, 3.26MB)

Closing the Gap in Health and Mental Health Services
for Student Veterans
Dr. Katherine Selber
Professor, School of Social Work & Veterans Advisory Council, Founding Member & Military Family Member
Ms. Katie Hall, LMSW
Veterans Initiative, Project Facilitator
Texas A&M Conference, September 2015
War Does not Belong to the Fighters Who Fight It
Sebastian Junger
Understanding
Services
Understanding Our Veterans  Better Services 
Better Graduation Rates, More Success
I. Texas State University and the Veterans
Initiative Model

Texas State University
• 38,006 students (Fall 2015)
• Located in a military corridor
• A federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI)
(25%); about 35% overall ethnic minority
• Has long tradition of supporting military with two ROTC
units
This Generation of Student Veterans at Texas State
• 2,963 veterans and dependents (Fall2015) (TxState VA
Office, 2015)
• 1034 veterans
• Student veteran profile 2015:
• 20% Graduate / 80% Undergraduate
• Gender: 76% male / 24% female
• Ethnicity:
55.6%
27.6%
10%
2.4%
Anglo
Hispanic,
African-American,
Asian-American
.3% Am. Indian
1.6% Multi-racial
2.4% unknown
• 90% of vets are full time students
• 60% First Generation College Students
II. Knowing Your Student Veterans
Dominque LaVista ©
Methodology
• 2010, 2013, 2015 Needs Assessments
• Plus Other Data Sets
• Electronic Anonymous Voluntary Surveys
• Domains: Demographics, Education, Career,
Military Background, Transitional Process,
Financial, Health, & Mental Health
• 80 Plus Questions Total - Closed and Open
Ended Questions
• Response rates for Data Sets 25%- 28%
• Sample Sizes
Transitional Process
What Resources Utilized on Campus?
2015
2013
2010
VA Campus Office (49%)
VA Campus Office (81%)
VA Campus Office (83%)
Academic Advisor (49%)
Academic Advisor (71%)
Academic Advisor (73%)
Financial Aid (26%)
Financial Aid (51%)
Financial Aid (54%)
Rec. Center (24%)
Tutoring Writing (40%)
Health Services (23%)
Student vet group(21%)
Rec. Center (30%)
Tutoring, Writing (22%)
Tutoring, Writing (20%)
Student vet group (26%)
Career Services (21%)
Career Services (17%)
Career Services (25%)
Disability Services (9%)
Disability Services (13%)
Health Services (17%)
Univ. Counseling (8%)
Health Services (10%)
Disability Services (12%)
Attorney (4%)
Univ. Counseling (7%)
Univ. Counseling (3%)
Attorney (5%)
Transitional Process
Top Resources Utilized off Campus?
2015
2013
2010
VA Hospital/ Clinic
VA Hospital/Clinic
VA Hospital/Clinic
(74%)
(87%)
(69%)
Private Prov. (23%) Private Prov. (24%) Private Prov. (29%)
County Veterans
County Veterans
County Veterans
Services (10%)
Services (16%)
Services (10%)
Vet Center (9%)
Vet Center (16%)
Vet Center (8%)
Transitional Process
Did These Services Help You Adjust?
Yes
2015= 70%
2013= 89%
No
30%
11%
I have not experienced barriers or obstacles
2013= 35% 
2015= 14%
Health Related Factors
• 60% experience lasting physical effects due to service-related
injury
• 69% experience some degree of pain as a result of service-related
injury
– 6%: Severe
– 35%: Moderate
– 28%: Minimal
• 30% responded that their pain effects their focus and
concentration in class
• 47% have high levels of stress
• 73% have experienced changes in their sleep patterns since
leaving military service
• 10.5% feel continued impacts of concussive event
• Takeaway- Pain, stress, sleep issues impact student vets
Dominque LaVista ©
Mental Health Factors- Providers
Student veterans’ preferences for
providers of mental health services:
• Civilians with experience with military
culture: 36%
• Veteran peers: 28%
• No preference: 21%
• Civilians unfamiliar with military
culture: 6%
*35% indicate they don’t want mental
health services
Mental Health Factors- Stress
Overall, Do You Feel High Levels of Stress on a
Regular Basis?
• No (52%)
• Yes (48%)
Additional supports that would be helpful :
•
•
•
•
•
•
Anything that helped with stress (24%)
Career supports (18%)
Study skills (16%)
Tutoring (15%)
Time management (13%)
Financial (13%)
Mental Health Factors- Alcohol
How Much Alcohol Do You Drink on
Average?
•
•
•
•
I don’t drink (24%)
Daily (32%)
2 to 3 drinks weekly (23%)
Occasionally (50%)
Mental Health Factors- Sleep
Difficulty Falling Asleep?
• Yes (25%)
Difficulty Staying Asleep?
• Yes (30%)
Sleep changes since leaving the military
75%
Does this affect your school work?
• Yes (53%)
Trends Over Time
In comparison to previous years 2015 student veterans
reported :
•More mental health needs (upset, anger, stress)
•More requests for academic supports to alleviate these
needs
•Percentages of problem areas reported not over 40%
•They are reporting service utilization in higher
percentages, mainly supports geared to Veterans
Trends
• Major findings in 2015 needs assessment :
• Student veterans report higher levels of need in
areas such as mental health, stress, barriers,
and sleep.
• However, more respondents stated these were
not issues in their academic success
• If experiencing need, student veterans seek help
from veteran-specific services
Trends –Service Utilization on Campus
• Student veterans DID NOT frequently utilize:
– Counseling services 3%
– Office of Disability Services 13%
Trends – Service Utilization on Campus
•
•
•
•
Student veterans have increased utilization of:
Veteran’s Affairs
VATS- student veteran organization
Social Work Interns
Mental Health Services Access
• Responses have increased since 2013 in the
area of mental health
• Student veterans noted these issues :
– Experiencing high stress 47%
– Changes in sleeping from 25% to 30%,
– With sleep issues impacting school work up
at 43%
However, the data does not show that student
veterans expect or want traditional services
from on-campus providers
Analyses: Correlates of Success
• If student veterans are feeling they have unmet
adjustment needs, they are going to tutoring
services and Social Work interns
• There is a positive relationship between happiness
and utilizing the Veteran’s Affairs on campus
among the student veterans population
• Utilization of Tutoring/Writing Skills, Student
veteran group, Veteran Initiative Interns, and the
recreational center increase connection to the
University environment
Analyses: Correlations of Success
& Support Systems
Utilize on
campus
Veterans
Affairs
Office
.126*
.015
374
.171*
.019
187
Happiness
at the
University
Connection
to the
University
Unmet
adjustment
needs
Problems to -.176**
cause
.000
leaving
932
University
Utilize on
Utilize on
campus
campus
SLAC/Writin tutoring
g
Utilize on
campus
VATS
Utilize on
Utilize on
campus Vet campus Rec
Initiative
center
Interns
.306**
.000
187
.325**
.000
187
.238**
.001
187
.115*
.029
358
.104*
.049
359
.288**
.000
187
Analyses: Preliminary Implications
• A major finding in this study:
The military has prepared them to handle the stress of
college responsibilities (82%)
• This has implications for how we prepare to transition a
veteran into campus to increase academic success
Preliminary Summary Conclusions
• Student veterans are reporting need areasmental health, stress, and sleep issues at higher
levels
• They request academic supports to alleviate
some of these issues
• Increases in recreational activities for stress
reduction, tutoring, and writing support, which
they are utilizing in higher percentages
• Increases are also within Veteran-specific
services (Veteran’s Affairs office on campus,
VATS, Veteran’s Initiative interns )
III. Services on Campus
Veteran Services at Texas State
Academic Support and Orientation Services
Health and Behavioral Health Support
Services
Career and Leadership Services
Training and Technical Assistance Services
Health & Behavioral Health Support
• Individual & Group Counseling Services by Vets—our Counseling
Center staff & Austin Vet Center staff
Health & Behavioral Health Support
It’s a lifeline not just a student
organization!
Peer-to-peer help
Sample 2014/2015Events: Monthly pizza
luncheons with speakers, Tailgating, 5k
race, Veterans Day, Intra-mural Sports, Golf
Tournament, Clean-up of River with County,
Monthly officer meeting, Monthly off-campus
socials, Warrior Challenge
Student Veterans of America chapter
Veterans National Honor Society
Health & Behavioral Health Support
Case Management:
Assessment, Referral, Linkage, Follow-up
 Social Work MSW/BSW Interns Assigned to Veterans
Initiative- since 2010 placed 30+ BSW/MSW interns in
the program
 Supervised by faculty
 Called Veterans Initiative Interns
 Outreach to vets
- From Veterans Affairs Office & Other Campus Offices
- Calls for those on Alert List due to low GPA
- Self referrals
- Referrals from faculty, staff- disability services
- Voluntary
 Focus on first year student vets
Health & Behavioral Health Support
Operation Scuba
 Partnership with
 Texas State Meadows River Center
 Project Cohort
 MVPN
 Use of Peer to Peer Model
approach
Dominque LaVista ©
Developing Operation Scuba
Evaluate
Roll out fuller program
Secure Funding
Pilot– select and train Operation Scuba mentors . Stand Up adaptive sports
network in region
Data indicated vets wanted more outdoor challenges for stress and pain
management that can be peer to peer based.
Needs assessment reflected 40% of vets have sleep issues & 69% were dealing
with pain & 47% dealing with stress
Prior work with wounded warriors @ Center for the Intrepid certification dive
setting to secure dive skills & therapeutic.
Managing Stress & Promoting Wellness
Groups/Team Outdoor Activities– newest adds--fly
fishing and archery
Texas State Student Veteran Outcomes
• Persistence after 1 year 2013
– Overall Student Population Combined freshman and transfers
77.9%
– Veterans Combined freshman and transfers 80.8%
• Graduation Rates after 6 years (as of 2015)
– Overall Student Population Combined freshman and transfers
60.4%
– Veteran Combined freshman and transfers 64.4%
• Data from Institutional Effectiveness Office, 2015.
Credits
Veterans not only understand the concept of sacrifice for the greater good;
They’ve lived it.
Colleagues in Military Projects:
Dr. Nancy Chavkin, Center for Children and Families
Dr. Mary Jo Biggs, HRSA grant
Dr. Amy Russell, Project Evaluator, HRSA grant
Ms. Katie Hall, LMSW Project Facilitator
Texas State student veterans and interns.