Study for the Employment Retention of Veterans (SERVe)

The Study for Employment Retention of Veterans (SERVe) is a randomized controlled trial, available exclusively to Oregon employers of veterans. It is designed to develop and scientifically evaluate Veteran-supportive supervisor training (VSST) that may enhance retention of veterans, with the goal of improving workplace culture and general well-being to our service members. The intervention, applied to workplace supervisors, will be measured by experience of veterans, assessing workplace experiences, health, well-being, as well as employees' spouse/partners' family experiences, health and well-being, and workplace outcomes.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Health Behavior; Well-Being; Workplace Outcomes
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Veteran Supportive Supervisor Training; Other: Waitlist Control

Detailed Description

The overall goal of the Study for Employment Retention of Veterans (SERVe) study is to improve health and well-being of current and former service members employed in participating Oregon organizations. The SERVe Study seeks to do this by training supervisors to support veteran employees by focusing on a reduction in work-life stress while increasing supportive supervisor behavior.

The SERVe Study proposes that supervisor supportiveness can influence workplace experience, health, and well-being of service members, as well as of their families.

The investigators of the SERVe Study expect positive results for study participants, including reduced stress and increased social support, reduction in negative workplace experiences, and improvement in family well-being outcomes. Longer term, these effects are expected to create a more supportive work environment, which has positive effects on safety, health, well-being, family, and organizational outcomes.

Veteran participants are measured at baseline, three months, and nine months. Veteran spouses are invited to participate as well. Married and cohabitating veterans and their partners are invited to participate in the Daily Family Study (DFS), a 32-day daily diary survey after baseline and at six months.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 511
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Oregon
    • Portland, Oregon, United States, 97239
      • Oregon Health & Science University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Must have served in the United States Armed Forces since September, 2001
• Must work at least 20 hours per week at a participating organization

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental: Supervisor Intervention; Supervisors in the intervention group will go through the Veteran Supervisor Supportiveness Training.	Behavioral: Veteran Supportive Supervisor Training; The family supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB) training intervention developed by Hammer and colleagues (2011) will be used as the basis for the development of the VSST intervention in the present study. In addition, we will draw on critical elements of training provided by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), information about potential mental and physical health effects of being in combat, and information to help reduce the stigma associated with returning veterans; in other words, "de-clinicalizing" their symptoms. Furthermore, this intervention study falls under the more general rubric of soldier resilience, but more specifically addresses both veteran and family resilience upon return from combat. The details of the training content will be researched and developed during the funded project period.
Other: Waitlist Control Group; Supervisors will receive intervention following all measurement points, to serve as a waitlist control comparison group	Other: Waitlist Control; Control group will receive training following all measurements points to serve as a comparison group

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Veteran Supportive Supervisor Behavior as measured by Perry et al.'s (2017) scale	VSSB as measured by Perry et al.'s (2017) scale, as impacted by the Veteran Supportive Supervisor Training	3 month and 9 months after Baseline assessment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Work-Family Conflict as assessed by Matthews et al.'s (2010) Work-Family Conflict Scale	as assessed by Matthews et al.'s (2010) Work-Family Conflict Scale	3 and 9 months after baseline assessment

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Oregon Health and Science University
• Collaborators: United States Department of Defense; Portland State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: April 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): February 7, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 15, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 20, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): March 21, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 23, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 19, 2019
• Last Verified: July 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Well-being; Employee; Psychological health
• Other Study ID Numbers: W81XWH-13-2-0020

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO