The Health and Wellbeing Outcomes of Employment and Vocational-Based Interventions for Veterans: A Scoping Review

Governments worldwide have invested in employment programs for veterans to aid the transition from military to civilian life, yet there is a lack of evidence of their impacts. This study outlines existing evidence of the health and wellbeing impacts of employment and vocational-based interventions. A scoping literature review was conducted between October 2022 and August 2023 to identify peer-reviewed literature that reported data on health and wellbeing outcomes from studies of employment or vocational-based interventions with veterans. A total of eight articles were included in the final review. Findings showed that academic literature surrounding the impact of employment or vocational-based employment programs on veterans’ health and wellbeing is lacking. While studies of employment and vocational-based interventions show some positive impacts on veterans, findings derive from a few studies conducted in one country—the United States. Additionally, existing studies fail to identify how and why health and wellbeing outcomes occur. These results suggest a requirement for further research to inform evidence-based policy and practice. This includes broadening the geographical scope of studies, using qualitative approaches, exploring individual components of employment and vocational-based programs for veterans, and considering pre- and post-intervention contexts.