The physical, psychological, and social impacts of participation in the Invictus Pathways Program: A qualitative analysis of veterans’ perceptions and experiences

INTRODUCTION: UniSA’s Invictus Pathways Program (IPP) is motivated by the spirit of the Invictus Games to mobilise the benefits of sport to aid physical, psychological, and social wellbeing. Originally developed to assist veterans to train for and participate in the Invictus Games, the program has extended its scope to promote recovery and wellbeing for all veterans through physical activity. This paper describes the expectations and experiences of the IPP from the perspective of program participants. METHODS: Objective measures of physical and psychological wellbeing were collected by survey, to enable description of the participating veterans’ wellbeing status. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants of the IPP who had not participated in an Invictus Games or Warrior Games. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data. Coding and themes were developed through a mixture of inductive and deductive approaches to analysis. Initial themes related to previous life experience, expectations of participation, and outcomes of participation were preconceived, but the analysis provided scope for an inductive approach to formulate additional themes. FINDINGS: Five of the participants had very high K10 scores, and scores above the norm for PCL-C, whilst one would be classified with an alcohol disorder. The qualitative analysis identified five higher order themes: Life experiences prior to participation in the IPP, Making a choice to participate in the IPP, Expectations of participation in the IPP, Impact of participation in the IPP, and Future Plans. There were perceptions that the IPP was beneficial for the participating veterans, irrespective of their physical and psychological health status. Participants described the positive impact of the IPP on their physical fitness, their social engagement, and their sense of belonging within the IPP and the university. Participants perceived the IPP to be an opportunity for them to ‘give back’ by contributing to the education of the students delivering the IPP. Participants reported the intention to continue being physically active. For some, this meant selection in an Invictus Games team, for others, this meant getting involved in community sporting organisations. CONCLUSION: The Invictus Pathways Program has been shown to have a positive impact on the physical and psychological wellbeing of the veterans who participated in its initial stages. As the program evolves, the longitudinal impact of participation, for veterans and their families, will be assessed.