Military veterans’ motivation and barriers to outdoor recreation participation

Abstract

ABSTRACT Outdoor activity benefits veterans’ sense of well-being, coping skills and affective experience while improving physical and mental health. Understanding military veterans’ motivation for and barriers to outdoor recreation allows healthcare providers to design interventions that help veterans achieve their healthcare objectives through outdoor activity, which may enhance treatment engagement and clinical outcomes. Veterans were surveyed about their reasons for and barriers to participation in outdoor recreational activities. Veterans’ motivations for engaging in their preferred outdoor activities were: 1. keep fit and healthy, 2. meet new people, 3. learn something new, 4. feel in harmony with nature, and 5. achieve spiritual fulfilment. Veterans with mobility challenges more frequently pursued outdoor activities when it was important for them to keep fit and healthy. Veterans without mobility challenges more frequently pursued outdoor activities when it was important for them to: 1. experience challenge and excitement, 2. meet new people, 3. learn something new, 4. feel harmony with nature, and 5. achieve spiritual fulfilment. The most common barriers to outdoor recreation were health problems, crowded facilities, family time, and feeling too tired. Veterans’ motivations for outdoor recreation were stronger drivers of their actual outdoor recreation participation than barriers to that activity.