The Military Transition Study
Built from the findings from the Southern California Veterans Study, the Military Transition Study is a mixed methods, in-depth examination of the experience of military transition. This research will explore the emotional challenges associated with leaving military service, and aims to identify gaps in knowledge, practice and policy around the experience of military transition.
- Veterans who left the military within the last 6 months, and are not currently serving, are eligible to participate
- Participation involves the completion of an online survey and takes approximately 20-30 minutes to complete
Interested in learning more about this study or participating? Contact the study team at milvetst@usc.edu!
The County Veteran Service Officers Study
County Veteran Service Officers (CVSOs) help veterans access service-connected benefits. This pilot study aimed to examine the impact CVSOs have on veteran clients’ well-being, explore veteran clients’ satisfaction with services, and consider how services might be improved. Data were collected from 565 veterans who had used CVSO services in three California counties within the last five years. Twenty participants also took part in qualitative interviews. Data were analyzed and seven findings identified.
Examining Veterans’ Satisfaction with County Veteran Service Officers (CVSOs) & the Impact Service Officers Have on Veteran Clients’ Well-Being
This study was completed thanks to generous funding by the Los Angeles County Quality and Productivity Commission, in partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, and the Epstein Family Foundation.
Epstein Family Foundation
Predictive Modeling for Early Identification of Suicidal Thinking in Social Networks
This research applied an innovative approach to identify factors associated with the intention to disclose one’s suicidal thoughts. Survey and social network methods were used to collect data from 241 active duty U.S. Army personnel. This study utilized AI and machine learning, specifically generalized linear mixed-model (GLMM) trees, to predict disclosure intention.
Suicide-Related Disclosure Intention Among Active-Duty Servicemembers: A Generalized Linear Mixed-Model Tree Analysis
Veterans Healthcare Experience and Decision-Making Study
This qualitative study, released in 2024, explored factors that drive healthcare choice in veterans and their experiences in VA and non-VA healthcare settings. Eight focus groups were conducted with 59 veterans. Guided by a semi-structured interview protocol, veterans discussed their healthcare experiences and the factors that influenced the veterans’ decision-making around their choice of healthcare provider.
Drivers of Veterans’ Healthcare Choices and Experiences with Veterans Affairs and Civilian Healthcare
This study was completed thanks to generous funding by the Epstein Family Foundation and the Charles Koch Foundation.
The Southern California Veterans Study
Led by USC Research Professor, Dr. Sara Kintzle, the Southern California Veterans study comprises the fifth study in the State of the American Veteran series. The Southern California Veterans Study was conducted from July 2022 and June 2023 and includes data on 3,188 veterans living in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego Counties. Funded by The Epstein Family Foundation, SoCal Grantmakers, UniHealth Foundation and Cedars Sinai, the purpose of this research was to continue to examine how and where challenges occur and provide communities with the information and resources needed to address veteran needs collaboratively through practice, policy and research.
Reports
The State of the American Veteran: The Southern California Veterans Study; Key Findings and Policy Recommendations provides a succinct overview of study findings, and summarizes policy recommendations presented to Congressional members, staff and the Department of Defense in April 2024
The State of the American Veteran: The Southern California Veteran Study
Overview of the study findings
State of the American Veteran: Veteran Women
Overview of SoCal Study findings for veteran women.
The State of the American Veteran: The Southern California Veterans Study; Housing Insecurity, Key Findings, Insights and Recommendations highlights study findings around veterans housing experiences.
Additional Resources
County Level Data
While the focus of this study is on Southern California veterans, we understand there may be times where county level data could be helpful. As such, analyses in this report have also been examined by county and can be found here.
Requests for Data Analysis
If you are interested in seeing data that is not found in the reports (such as for specific groups), you can submit a request for additional data analyses by the research team.
Requests for Presentations
Would you like the study team to provide a presentation to your organization/team? You may submit a request by clicking on the button below:
This study and report were made possible by the generous support of Epstein Foundation, SoCal Grantmakers, Cedars Sinai, and UniHealth Foundation.
Epstein Family Foundation
