Dursa Erin K, Barth Shannon K, Bossarte Robert M, Schneiderman Aaron I
Post-Deployment Health Epidemiology Service, Office of Patient Care Services, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, USA.
Post-Deployment Health Epidemiology Service, Office of Patient Care Services, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, USA; School of Public Health, University of West Virginia, Morgantown, WV, USA.
Public Health Rep. 2016 Nov;131(6):839-843. doi: 10.1177/0033354916676279. Epub 2016 Oct 20.
An estimated 60% of all Operation Enduring Freedom / Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans who have left the military had used the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for health care services as of March 31, 2015. What is not known, however, are the differences in demographic, military, and health characteristics between OEF/OIF veterans who use the VA for health care and OEF/OIF veterans who do not. We used data from the 2009-2011 National Health Study for a New Generation of US Veterans to explore these differences. We found that VA health care users were more likely than non-VA health care users to be non-Hispanic black, to be unmarried, to have served on active duty and in the army, to have been deployed to OEF/OIF, and to have an annual income less than $35 000. The prevalence of 21 chronic medical conditions was higher among VA health care users than among non-VA health care users. OEF/OIF veterans using the VA for health care differ from nonusers with respect to demographic, military, and health characteristics. These data may be useful for developing programs and policies to address observed health disparities and achieve maximum benefit for the VA beneficiary population.
截至2015年3月31日，估计所有已退伍的持久自由行动/伊拉克自由行动（OEF/OIF）退伍军人中有60%曾使用美国退伍军人事务部（VA）的医疗服务。然而，使用VA医疗服务的OEF/OIF退伍军人与未使用的退伍军人在人口统计学、军事和健康特征方面的差异尚不清楚。我们利用2009 - 2011年美国新一代退伍军人全国健康研究的数据来探究这些差异。我们发现，与未使用VA医疗服务的退伍军人相比，使用VA医疗服务的退伍军人更有可能是非西班牙裔黑人、未婚、曾服现役且在陆军服役、曾被部署到OEF/OIF，以及年收入低于35000美元。21种慢性疾病在使用VA医疗服务的退伍军人中的患病率高于未使用的退伍军人。使用VA医疗服务的OEF/OIF退伍军人在人口统计学、军事和健康特征方面与未使用者不同。这些数据可能有助于制定相关项目和政策，以解决观察到的健康差异问题，并为VA受益人群实现最大利益。
