Moved to 1/13/22, 3:15-4:45 pm. Intervention Development for Veterans Who Experience Institutional Betrayal: Methodology and Case Study

Veterans report numerous incidences of institutional betrayal, defined as a perception of harm perpetrated by an institution that was meant to protect them (Smith & Freyd, 2013), both while in the military and when seeking health care. Our team used the Integrated Transformative Potential Intervention Development (InTrePID) Method (Jemal, 2021) to develop interventions (practices, programs, policies, culture) to address institutional betrayal in health care. This model translates the critical transformative potential development framework into concrete practice steps:(1) dialogue,(2) critical participatory action research initiatives,(3) skill building, and (4) critical action project implementation. The framework was developed to bridge the gap between critical consciousness and critical action needed to transform and address social problems, like institutional betrayal. In this case study, our team used the narratives of Veterans exposed to toxic substances during their military service and subject matter experts to develop an intervention to understand and mitigate the effects of institutional betrayal and encourage institutional courage (Smidt, 2020). Findings suggest clinical (e.g., support groups), institutional (e.g., provider education and training) and macro (e.g., compensation and pension policies) level interventions to help Veterans engage in health care and heal from past experiences of institutional betrayal.