An analysis of media coverage of the transition from military to civilian life, with a focus on health and well-being

LAY SUMMARY The media can shape the opinions, beliefs, and attitudes of the public toward Veterans and Veteran issues and can also be a vital source of information for Veterans and their families. As such, the authors used social science methods to collect, read, and analyze the tone and content of Canadian media coverage of Veteran transition from military to civilian life. The most common themes included posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide, and issues with employment, housing, and social integration. Less common themes included financial issues, depression, and substance use. Comparing coverage between mainstream and specialist media emanating from the Canadian Armed Forces found patterns of reporting differ between military and mainstream media. Mainstream media often focus on PTSD and suicide, especially in the context of extremely rare, one-off events (e.g., the Lionel Desmond incident). In contrast, military media focus on practical aspects of transition, such as employment issues and support programs. Results of this study indicate a need for more educational resources and better outreach to help Canadian journalists report military-to-civilian transition in a comprehensive and balanced manner. Introduction: The transition from military to civilian life can be a challenging period for recently released Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel, and there is a lack of research on media coverage of this transition. Thus, the first objective of this study was to document and analyze the nature and prevalence of themes and topics in media articles about the transition. The second objective was to compare coverage between mainstream Canadian media and specialist media emanating from the CAF. Methods: The authors systematically collected news media pieces mentioning the transition from 77 Canadian media sources including newspaper print articles, online text news, news videos, and articles from specialist military media over a six-month period. These were coded for the presence and absence of key themes. Results: The most common themes included posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicide, and issues with employment, housing, and social integration. Less common themes included financial issues, depression, and substance use. Stratified analysis revealed military media rarely discuss mental or physical health issues and instead focus on practical aspects of the transition and support programs. In contrast, mainstream media tend to focus more on PTSD and suicide, and less on factors such as education or employment issues. Discussion: Results reveal a heterogeneity of themes spread over various topics. However, patterns of reporting differ between military and mainstream media. This implies the importance of educational outreach to journalists working for both mainstream and military sources to ensure comprehensive, diverse, and balanced reporting.