Grubaugh Anouk L, Elhai Jon D, Ruggiero Kenneth J, Egede Leonard E, Naifeh James A, Frueh B Christopher
Ralph H. Johnson VAMC and Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, P.O. Box 250861, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
Mil Med. 2009 Dec;174(12):1241-6. doi: 10.7205/milmed-d-09-00070.
To address potential equity concerns about the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) process for adjudicating military service-related disability claims.
Participants were a nationally representative sample of 20,048 veterans completing the 2001 National Survey of Veterans. Sociodemographic, access, and illness correlates of both the award and rate of general disability benefits awarded by the VA were examined using an established theoretical framework.
Sociodemographic, access, and illness variables were associated with both the award ("yes/no") and rate of benefits (0-100%) awarded, with combat exposure, unemployment, and physical impairment accounting for the strongest model effects.
Veterans' needs were not overshadowed by factors related to demographic background or access (e.g., race, gender, insurance), reducing concerns about disparities in general VA disability disbursements. These data are timely as disability claims/payments will likely increase dramatically in the near future because of current conflicts in the Middle East.
解决对美国退伍军人事务部（VA）判定与军事服役相关残疾索赔程序的潜在公平性担忧。
参与者是完成2001年全国退伍军人调查的20,048名退伍军人的全国代表性样本。使用既定的理论框架研究了VA授予的一般残疾福利的授予情况和比率的社会人口统计学、获取途径及疾病相关因素。
社会人口统计学、获取途径和疾病变量与授予情况（“是/否”）和福利比率（0 - 100%）均相关，战斗经历、失业和身体损伤在模型中影响最强。
退伍军人的需求并未因与人口背景或获取途径相关的因素（如种族、性别、保险）而被掩盖，这减少了对VA一般残疾支付差异的担忧。由于当前中东冲突，残疾索赔/支付在不久的将来可能会大幅增加，这些数据很及时。
