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Background/Purpose: Military veterans experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and increased rates of unemployment compared to civilian populations. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is identified as a key outcome of long-term health and well-being. The purpose of this article is to (a) explore how employment concerns of veterans with deployment-related (DR) PTSD are associated with HRQOL outcomes, and (b) discuss implications for rehabilitation research, policy, and education. Objective: To (a) explore how employment concerns of veterans with deployment-related (DR) PTSD are associated with HRQOL outcomes and (b) discuss implications for rehabilitation research, policy and education. Setting: Three Veterans Health Administration Centers (VHAs). Design/Method: Descriptive qualitative study examining employment-related domains identified through focus groups. Findings: Sample consisted of 58 veterans with DR-PTSD (N = 9). Veterans report that HRQOL is affected by PTSD and unemployment. Specifically, themes emerged in the areas of anger, social roles/relationships, task performance, avoidance/isolation, hypervigilance, control over the environment, violence/aggression, and sleep interference. Conclusion: Currently, there are limited measures of HRQOL and employment in veterans with DR-PTSD. This understanding may contribute to development of a more relevant and sensitive measure of DR-PTSD HRQOL, which may facilitate improved research, program evaluation, and clinical practice. Rehabilitation counselors are well positioned to provide services to veterans, but may lack the educational foundation and training needed to support this unique population. Development of military-specific training and curriculum is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Community characteristics, such as perceived collective efficacy, a measure of community strength, can affect mental health outcomes following disasters. We examined the association of perceived collective efficacy with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and frequent mental distress (14 or more mentally unhealthy days in the past month) following exposure to the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons., Methods: Participants were 1486 Florida Department of Health workers who completed anonymous questionnaires that were distributed electronically 9 months after the 2005 hurricane season. Participant ages ranged from 20 to 79 years (mean, 48; SD, 10.7), and the majority were female (79%), white (75%), and currently married (64%). Fifty percent had a BA/BS degree or higher., Results: In 2 separate logistic regression models, each adjusted for individual sociodemographics, community socioeconomic characteristics, individual injury/damage, and community storm damage, lower perceived collective efficacy was significantly associated with a greater likelihood of having PTSD (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.90-0.96), and lower collective efficacy was significantly associated with frequent mental distress (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.92-0.96)., Conclusions: Programs enhancing community collective efficacy may be a significant part of prevention practices and possibly lead to a reduction in the rate of PTSD and persistent distress postdisaster. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:44-52).