Gawron Lori M, Pettey Warren B P, Redd Andrew M, Suo Ying, Gundlapalli Adi V
VA Salt Lake City Health Care System & University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Stud Health Technol Inform. 2017;238:112-115.
Homeless women Veterans have a high prevalence of chronic mental and physical conditions that necessitate frequent healthcare visits, but travel burdens to specialty services may be overwhelming to navigate for this population, especially for those in rural settings. Access to specialty care is a key priority in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and understanding the geographic distribution and rural designation of this population in relation to medical centers (VAMC) can assist in care coordination. We identified 41,747 women Veterans age 18-44y with administrative evidence of homelessness in the VHA anytime during 2002-2015. We found 7% live in rural settings and 29% live >40miles from a VAMC. The mean travel distance for homeless women Veterans with a rural designation to a VAMC specialty center was 107 miles. Developing interventions to overcome this travel burden and engage vulnerable Veterans in necessary care can improve overall health outcomes for this high-risk population.
无家可归的女性退伍军人患有慢性身心疾病的比例很高，这需要她们频繁就医，但前往专科服务机构的行程负担对于这一人群来说可能难以承受，尤其是对于那些生活在农村地区的人。获得专科护理是退伍军人健康管理局（VHA）的一项关键优先事项，了解这一人群相对于医疗中心（VAMC）的地理分布和农村指定情况有助于护理协调。我们在2002年至2015年期间的任何时间，通过行政记录确定了41747名年龄在18至44岁之间且有无家可归证据的女性退伍军人。我们发现，7%的人生活在农村地区，29%的人居住在距离VAMC超过40英里的地方。被指定为农村地区的无家可归女性退伍军人前往VAMC专科中心的平均行程距离为107英里。制定干预措施以克服这种行程负担，并让弱势退伍军人接受必要的护理，可以改善这一高危人群的整体健康状况。
