Public Health
Veterans Responding to Disasters: Interviews with Team Rubicon Members
Project Lead: Aram Dobalian, Ph.D., J.D.
Many military personnel are extensively trained to provide frontline trauma care in combat. This expertise is also useful for responding to disasters in civilian settings.
This project seeks to better understand how volunteer work in emergency management helps Veterans reintegrate into civilian society and find meaning in their lives. It focuses on Team Rubicon, a non-profit organization that deploys response teams, consisting largely of Veterans, to areas that are acutely affected by disasters, warfare, and other extreme events.
The project examines:
- How Veterans perceive the personal and professional benefits of doing volunteer emergency response work
- Feasibility of evaluating emergency management work in acute disaster settings
Findings and importance
Findings will be used to:
- Design future evaluations of disaster response and other community service programs designed to help Veterans reintegrate into civilian society
- Understand how Veterans may strengthen the resilience of the communities in which they live