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Author ORCID Identifier
Date Available
5-2-2024
Year of Publication
2022
Document Type
Capstone
Degree Name
Doctor of Social Work (DSW)
Faculty
Laura Escobar-Ratliff, DSW
Abstract
Mental health disparities amongst the African American/Black community are well documented in literature. Throughout history the African American/ Black community have dealt with unethical operating procedures and research studies. This capstone project looks at historical facts, the lack of Black male veteran specific research as it relates to mental health, lived experiences of Black male veteran students with mental health/treatment, and developing culturally appropriate approaches to increasing research and effective practices to better serve this community.
The second chapter and first product of this capstone project is a systematic literature review. This literature review focused on finding literature on African American/ Black male veteran students. Themes that were found during this review included historical/cultural mistrust of healthcare systems and researchers, veteran students, barriers such as stigma and non-traditional support, and Black males and mental health. Historical and cultural mistrust of healthcare systems and research come from mistreatment of enslaved women by J. Marion Sims, The Tuskegee Experiment, Henrietta Lacks, and many others. In much of the literature on veterans and veteran students it was determined to be little to no samples of Black veterans identified in studies. As far as the mental health Black male veterans specifically, there were no results found which tells us there is a need for more research and published literature on this population and its subpopulations.
Chapter three is a conceptual paper that looks at developing a new approach to increase research on Black male veteran students. Due to the mistrust of healthcare systems and researchers discussed in the previous chapter, it would behoove researchers to develop more effective ways of recruiting Black Americans to participate in research studies. By combining Critical Race Theory and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion frameworks social work researchers can develop culturally effective means of approaching and conducting research on this population.
The third product within this capstone project is a practice application paper that introduces a novel study on Black male veteran students’ experiences with mental health and mental health treatment. Themes found in this qualitative study were the lack of knowledge of what mental health is, their experiences with therapy, negative comments regarding therapy, and the lack of familial support. In this product implications are made to social work educators, practitioners, and researchers to help increase research and develop culturally appropriate curriculum and practices.
Social work researchers, educators, and practitioners interested in the mental health of African American/Black men and their subpopulations can utilize the findings within this capstone project to determine what more needs to be examined. With an increase of research and literature on this population, the social work field will be able to be pioneers in breaking the barriers to mental health for African American/Black men.
KEYWORDS: African American/Black, male veteran, student, lived experiences, mental health/treatment
Recommended Citation
Robinson, Tay, "TRANSFORMING SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE AND RESEARCH: EXAMINING LIVED EXPERIENCES OF BLACK MALE VETERAN STUDENTS AND MENTAL HEALTH" (2022). DSW Capstone Projects. 44.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/csw_grad_reports/44
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