The Center for Jackson Hole is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of nature as a social determinant of health. We seek a researcher to catalogue the estimated 1,000 programs, initiatives and organizations currently administering nature-rich interventions to veterans and active-duty service members suffering from PTSD, TBI and other conditions.
Background: Following wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, American troops returned to the United States suffering from PTSD and TBI in unprecedented numbers. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), charged with caring for military veterans, lacked effective interventions to address these conditions. Studies conducted as part of the Green Road Project and the Naval Medical Center's Surf and Hike Therapy trial indicated that nature-rich interventions such as hiking, surfing, hunting and angling provided more successful outcomes than traditional (pharmaceutical) interventions, but they did not gain widespread adoption with the VA.
Frustrated with the VA's interventions, many veterans began taking matters into their own hands, founding nonprofit organizations that incorporated nature-rich interventions into programming that benefited their peers. Problematically, little coordination between these nonprofit organizations exists, resulting in fragmentation, siloing and lack of communication between natural allies.
The development of a database to catalogue the myriad initiatives currently underway will assist with standardization of protocols, establishment of best practices, shared results and communications among principals. This in turn will provide value to veterans, the VA, the Department of Defense and its responsibilities to provide continuity of care for active duty service members as they transition to civilian life.
About the recuiterMember since Sep 9, 2017 Yosef
from Hazafon, Israel