Projects

Project Overview

Insight provided research support to the Recovering Warrior Task Force (RWTF) to prepare its final annual report. Charged with assessing the effectiveness of programs and policies across the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) that support the care of recovering Service members, RWTF examines more than a dozen specific topics each year. In 2014, study topics included—

• Case management
• Traumatic brain injury
• Posttraumatic stress disorder
• Support for family caregivers
• Vocational services
• Interagency programs (i.e., between DoD and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)
• Disability evaluation systems
• Legal support

Insight assessed the effectiveness of the policies and programs developed and implemented by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and each of the military departments to assist and support the management and transition of recovering wounded, ill, and injured (WII) members of the Armed Forces.

Specifically, Insight—

• Developed and implemented a comprehensive research plan to structure the activities of RWTF
• Used a variety of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods
• Used data sources such as briefings by headquarters- and installation-level proponents, key informant interviews, installation-level focus groups, minisurveys with WII Service members and family caregivers, extant datasets
• Collected, cataloged, and analyzed extensive amounts of primary and secondary data for RWTF
• Compiled and wrote evidence in support of RWTF’s recommendations

Following 4 years of RWTF efforts, the final report included best practices and recommendations for how DoD and the military departments could more effectively address matters relating to the care, management, and transition of WII members of the Armed Forces.

Products

The final report is entitled “Department of Defense Recovering Warrior Task Force: 2013–2014 Annual Report” (September 2014) and is available at http://rwtf.defense.gov/Portals/22/Documents/Reports/fy2014report.pdf.