title: Demographic, Military, and Health Characteristics of VA Health Care Users and Nonusers Who Served in or During Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2009-2011.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Post-Deployment Health Epidemiology Service, Office of Patient Care Services, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Erin K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Dursa
authors.affiliation: Post-Deployment Health Epidemiology Service, Office of Patient Care Services, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Shannon K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Barth
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Bossarte
authors.affiliation: Post-Deployment Health Epidemiology Service, Office of Patient Care Services, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Schneiderman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Department of Veterans Affairs; OEF/OIF; veterans