Veterans’ health and well-being assessment

“What are the health and well-being strengths and needs of Canadian Veterans?”

This was the guiding question of the Veterans’ Well-being Community Health Needs Assessment. The assessment was conducted by Veterans Affairs Canada in 2023-2024 to:

• shed new light on the health and well-being priorities of Canadian Veterans, including equity-deserving Veterans such as women, 2SLGBTQI+, Indigenous, and Black and racialized Veterans;
• reduce inequity in policy development and service delivery; and
• support the planning and allocation of health resources for Veterans.

The team used a “mixed methods” approach to identify the health and well-being strengths and needs of Canadian Veterans. This included:

• Community engagement: 40+ Veterans/key partners, and more than 250 organizations participated in the planning, implementation, and evaluation phases of the research
• Review of existing literature: targeted search of 500+ academic articles
• Focus groups: 12 focus groups met 2-3 times each (3-5 Veterans per group) 
• Interviews: 45 one-on-one interviews with Veterans
• Secondary analysis of recent national surveys: 2021 Census; 2022 Canadian Veteran Health Survey; and 2022 VAC National Client Survey
• Online survey: developed with input from Veterans and partners (860 respondents)

Reports and summaries

• 2023 Veterans’ Well-being Community Health Needs Assessment
• Accessible Summary of Findings: Veterans’ Well-Being Community Health Needs Assessment
• Veterans Resource Directory A downloadable list of supports and services across Canada for Veterans or service providers.

This research provided valuable insights into the broad range of factors that influence Veteran health and well-being. The team is working hard to share the findings of this work with Veterans, partners and those who develop programs and supports for Canadian Veterans by:

• publishing reports and papers;
• following up with the Veterans and partners who participated in the research to share the final report and findings; and
• holding extensive consultations across the department to discuss how to implement the findings in ways that will improve how we address the needs of Veterans.

The goal is that this new knowledge will:

• inform programs and services that better support the health and well-being of all Veterans, including women, 2SLGBTQI+, Indigenous, Black and racialized Veterans and Veterans with disabilities;
• strengthen government–community partnerships to support Veteran health and well-being; and
• promote positive outcomes for Veterans by making information directly available to everyone involved with Veteran health and well-being, including Veterans who can use the report to better understand their own risks and protective factors.

If you or your organization would like more information about our research, please email us. Please do not include personal or private health information.