Structural Representation in the Veteran Well-Being Literature: A Quantitative Analysis Using an Integrated Public Health

This study examines how structural determinants of veteran well-being are represented within a curated public health literature database. Using 419 references from the Healthy Vets Community (HVC) evidence base, each source was classified through an integrated framework incorporating Vital Conditions (VC), Social Ecological Framework (SEF) levels, System Supports (SS), and Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) keywords. The tagged data were transformed into a binary document-by-domain matrix to enable quantitative analysis, including descriptive statistics, co-occurrence analysis, and network modeling. Results indicate that the literature is heavily concentrated on health and safety-related domains, while broader structural determinants such as transportation, housing, and environmental conditions are comparatively underrepresented. Network analysis further demonstrates that health and safety functions as a central node connecting multiple domains, whereas structural conditions remain more peripheral. These findings suggest an imbalance in the current evidence base toward individual and clinical factors, highlighting the need for more comprehensive, systems-oriented research. This study provides a reproducible analytic framework for assessing structural representation in public health literature and identifying gaps for future research and policy development.