Supporting Community Engagement for Veterans After Psychiatric Hospitalization: Perspectives From Clinical, Personal,...

Recently psychiatrically hospitalized Veterans are at elevated risk for suicide soon after discharge. Social connectedness is a robust protective factor against suicide; however, many Veterans have limited sources of social support and well-being. Promoting engagement in community activities may help increase social connectedness, but there is limited research on the barriers and facilitators experienced by mental health providers, community organizations, and Veterans' loved ones to support such efforts. The current study collected qualitative data via interviews with 29 participants from these three groups in different regions of the United States. Interviews focused on participants' experiences with organizational- and systems-level factors impacting current implementation of strategies for supporting Veteran engagement in community activities. Data were analyzed using templated summarization and matrix analysis. Participants generally valued community engagement for this high-risk population and identified barriers related to mental health challenges and lack of central coordination of activities. Mental health administrators and policy makers invested in increasing social connectedness among high-risk Veteran groups should consider leveraging existing community networks to address identified barriers to community engagement.