Abstract
Objective
To increase campus-wide wellness for student service members/veterans (SSM/Vs), student services professionals, healthcare providers, and faculty collaborated to implement the Social Ecological Framework (SEF) over a three-year project.
Participants
One thousand six hundred and seventy eight SSM/Vs enrolled at a medium-sized doctoral granting institution with high-research activity (R2). SSM/Vs were directly and indirectly impacted through a series of initiatives, including stigma reduction efforts, wellness promotion, faculty training, therapeutic services, and peer-advising.
Methods
Data collection included student success measures such as retention, student satisfaction/feedback, peer-advising meetings, psychotherapy sessions, TBI screenings, and growth measures from a mental health stigma scale.
Results
A significant increase in therapy sessions conducted at the Wellness Center, increased faculty trainings, new and strengthened partnerships, and an increase in SSM/V retention.
Conclusions
Results suggest that collaborative efforts applying the SEF can create improved educational conditions and outcomes for SSM/Vs. A review of SSM/V wellness literature and suggestions for other campuses are offered.
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and received approval from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.