Gender in Veteran Reintegration and Transition: A Scoping Review

Abstract

This article presents the results of a scoping review of Canadian and international literature on gender and Veteran reintegration and transition. METHODS: The scoping review yielded 178 articles, which were organized thematically according to issues impacting Veterans' transition to civilian life and by their approach to gender. RESULTS: There has been an upswing in gender research on Veterans, with 100 of the 178 articles published between 2000 and 2015. Most of the research articles, largely quantitative studies, are related to health issues (n=108), discussing mental and physical health outcomes and health services use. There is much less gender-related research being conducted on socio-economic themes (n=25) of Veterans' homelessness, employment, and education. Military sexual trauma (MST) represents the second most common topic (n=45) researched in the reviewed literature, and appeared primarily in the context of health research and, to a lesser extent, in relation to socio-economic issues. DISCUSSION: Lack of clarity on the use of the term "Veteran" and lack of explicit engagement with military-to-civilian transition in the reviewed literature pose challenges. Furthermore, the lack of qualitative research, social sciences research, and Canadian research represent major gaps in the literature. We recommend that the impact of military and civilian gender norms and gendered power dynamics be considered in relation to female, male, and LGBTQ Veterans across transition stages and across health and socio-economic dimensions in future research and programming.