A Systematic Review of the Literature on Veterans' Unanticipated Medical Retirement and Transition to Civilian Life

Abstract

Despite the existence of literature investigating the impact of unexpected medical retirement on veterans' transition to civilian life, there was a lack of systematic review of this literature among veterans. The influence of veterans' UMR on their transition to civilian life was investigated in this systematic review of literature. The researcher chose 15 studies for the systematic review based on the implementation of a search strategy created on the basis of six criteria for inclusion in accordance with the research phenomenon. Transition issues (with two sub-themes of female veterans and identity), employment experience, and sources of support emerged from a synthesis of the included research, revealing three primary themes on the influence of veterans' UMR on transition to civilian life: The review's findings, which are based on a synthesis of recent literature, add to the body of knowledge in the subject of veterans' rehabilitation. There were also consequences for practice, such as the necessity to address veteran prejudice during their job search following UMR and female veterans' alienation due to sexual trauma. Future researchers should reduce the scope of systematic reviews on veterans' transition experiences after UMR to allow for meta-analysis, and conduct a systematic review on solely female veterans' transition experiences after UMR to highlight their particular needs even more.