Authors: Williams, A., Cramm, H., Donnelly, C., Pedlar, D., & Wolfrom, B.
Context: Approximately 5000 Regular Force Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members leave the military annually. During service, military members access the Canadian Forces Health Services (CFHS) and, after release, must transition to provincial primary care. Veterans are more likely to experience health problems than the general population and recent research indicates that primary care is an important source of healthcare for Veterans. Concerns have been expressed about the capacity of provincial health systems, including primary care, to address the health needs of Veterans. No studies have investigated Veterans’ experience of transitioning from the CFHS to provincial primary care during military to civilian transition. Objective: to increase understanding of this experience. Human Subjects Review: Queen’s University Health Sciences Research Ethics Board Delegated review. Design: A qualitative phenomenology. Setting: This study is being conducted in Canada. A purposive sample of 16 CAF Regular Force veterans who released between 6 months and 3 years ago was recruited to participate in individual interviews which focused on their experience of accessing primary care during their transition to civilian life. The sample has representation from a range of service elements (i.e., Army, Navy, Air Force), ranks, and release types (e.g., medical, voluntary). Anticipated Results: Data analysis is ongoing and preliminary results indicate that the health service transition is abrupt. There was a wide range of experiences with some participants being able to find a primary care provider and others not. Participants describe using provincial wait lists and personal contacts to find a primary care provider. Those unable to secure a regular primary care provider report accessing walk-in, urgent, and emergency services. Those with ongoing health issues reported the transition to provincial primary care to be particularly stressful with some describing unmet health needs. Most participants describe little formal support for the health service transition and made recommendations for enhancing support, such as temporarily extending access to the CFHS after the release date. Conclusion: Transition to provincial primary care may be a challenging aspect of the military release process for Canadian Veterans. Recommendations for improved support and future research will be made.