A Scoping Review of Contemporary Social Work Practice With Veterans

Abstract

Objective: Social work served U.S. veterans and service members throughout its history as a profession. Social workers continue to support the physical and psychological health of veterans in both the public and private sectors. This scoping review sought to characterize the social work research on practice with veterans. Methods: Both academic sources and gray literature were reviewed. Results: A total of 536 items were reviewed to determine methodology, sample, social work’s role in the research, content area, and publication type. The largest category of research methodology was descriptive studies (50%). An additional 9% of studies were experimental in nature. Most of the peer-reviewed empirical literature came from U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs settings. A slight majority, 58% of peer-reviewed articles, identified a social worker as an author. The most frequently used key words in social work journals reflected mental health (33%), most focused on post-traumatic stress disorder (41%). Conclusions: Characterizing the social work literature continues to be a challenge. Social workers practice in a variety of arenas with veterans and should be afforded opportunities to engage in research especially endeavors that focus on marginalized populations of veterans.