Modifying the Qualitative Delphi Technique to Develop the Female Soldier Support Model

Authors

Daniel L. Roberts, University of PhoenixFollow
Joann Kovacich, University of PhoenixFollow

Abstract

The U.S. Army chaplaincy did not have a gender specific model for providing emotional and spiritual support to women soldiers. Such a model was needed because women often experience the military differently than men. The Comprehensive Female Soldier Support (CFS²) model was developed using a modified Delphi technique and a feminist theoretical framework. This study altered the Delphi design by using two successive panels of experts. The first panel, consisting of 10 wounded female soldiers, developed a list of pastoral needs experienced by the women. The second panel, composed of 11 female chaplains, provided solutions for those needs. The implication is that specific modifications used in this study are useful when the support needs of a population group are unknown, but once identified, the appropriate experts can solve these needs. Human services practitioners, social workers, and spiritual support providers may find the techniques invaluable.

Keywords

Female Soldier, Chaplain, Delphi, Support, Gender, Multiple Panels, Qualitative Methodology

Author Bio(s)

Dr. Roberts has been serving in the U.S. Army chaplaincy for over 16 years. His degrees include a Bachelor of Arts in Management and Ethics, a Master of Science in Information Systems, and Doctor in Management with a specialization in Information Systems Technology. His ground-breaking dissertation, entitled, A Comprehensive Plan for Providing Chaplaincy Support to Wounded Female Soldiers: A Delphi Study, integrated the needs of wounded female soldiers and the expertise of female chaplains to develop a cutting-edge model of support for women in the military. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: dr.danielroberts@icloud.com.

Dr. Kovacich is Associate Faculty at the School of Advanced Studies, University of Phoenix. She is an applied anthropologist, qualitative researcher, and program evaluator. She has co-developed several self-study web-based modules for health care professionals in the area of aging, Alzheimer research, interdisciplinary rural health care delivery, medication management, trans-cultural communication, and evidence-based complementary therapies for palliative care. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: jkovacich@email.phoenix.edu.

Publication Date

1-15-2018

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3073

Recommended APA Citation

Roberts, D. L., & Kovacich, J. (2018). Modifying the Qualitative Delphi Technique to Develop the Female Soldier Support Model. The Qualitative Report, 23(1), 158-167. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3073