VA Health Equity Report Details Disparities in Care

“A good understanding of the diverse veteran populations is imperative if the VA is to genuinely resolve the inequities for those at high risk and with the most need,” says the introduction to the first-ever National Veteran Health Equity Report. The report, which contains demographic information on veterans who received VHA care in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, is designed to provide that comparative information on minorities, women, and other veteran groups. For example:

• Although women represented only about 7% of patients in FY2013, their numbers in VHA have more than doubled since 2000—140% growth, far outstripping the 63% growth among men over the same period;
• In FY2013, 46% of veterans were aged ≥ 65 years;
• More than one-third of veterans lived in rural areas;
• Almost one-half of VHA patients had a service-connected disability. All racial/ethnic minority patient groups, compared with whites, were more likely to have a service-connected disability;

• A higher proportion of women had a service-connected disability, and women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression;
• Overall, 33% of VHA patients had ≥ 1 mental health diagnoses. Women and blacks/African Americans were “over-represented” among patients diagnosed with serious mental illness;

• Veterans with serious mental illness also had higher diagnosis rates for musculoskeletal disorders (60% vs 43%) and gastrointestinal conditions (48% vs 30%). In fact, among the top 20 diagnosed conditions, rates for the SMI group exceeded that for the veterans with no mental health diagnosis for 17 conditions by a margin of > 10% for 7. The largest disparities were in tobacco use disorder, psychosocial factors, spine disorders, and housing insufficiency; and
• The only condition in which the diagnosed rate in a racial/ethnic group exceeded that for whites by a margin of 10% was PTSD, diagnosed in 21% of American Indian/Alaska Natives, versus 11% of whites.

Although the report targeted  6 million veterans accessing VA care in FY13, the estimated number of living veterans is about 22 million. It is a “starting place,” the developers promise. Next iterations will continue to evolve to meet the unique needs of diverse veterans.

“A good understanding of the diverse veteran populations is imperative if the VA is to genuinely resolve the inequities for those at high risk and with the most need,” says the introduction to the first-ever National Veteran Health Equity Report. The report, which contains demographic information on veterans who received VHA care in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, is designed to provide that comparative information on minorities, women, and other veteran groups. For example:

• Although women represented only about 7% of patients in FY2013, their numbers in VHA have more than doubled since 2000—140% growth, far outstripping the 63% growth among men over the same period;
• In FY2013, 46% of veterans were aged ≥ 65 years;
• More than one-third of veterans lived in rural areas;
• Almost one-half of VHA patients had a service-connected disability. All racial/ethnic minority patient groups, compared with whites, were more likely to have a service-connected disability;

• A higher proportion of women had a service-connected disability, and women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression;
• Overall, 33% of VHA patients had ≥ 1 mental health diagnoses. Women and blacks/African Americans were “over-represented” among patients diagnosed with serious mental illness;

• Veterans with serious mental illness also had higher diagnosis rates for musculoskeletal disorders (60% vs 43%) and gastrointestinal conditions (48% vs 30%). In fact, among the top 20 diagnosed conditions, rates for the SMI group exceeded that for the veterans with no mental health diagnosis for 17 conditions by a margin of > 10% for 7. The largest disparities were in tobacco use disorder, psychosocial factors, spine disorders, and housing insufficiency; and
• The only condition in which the diagnosed rate in a racial/ethnic group exceeded that for whites by a margin of 10% was PTSD, diagnosed in 21% of American Indian/Alaska Natives, versus 11% of whites.

Although the report targeted  6 million veterans accessing VA care in FY13, the estimated number of living veterans is about 22 million. It is a “starting place,” the developers promise. Next iterations will continue to evolve to meet the unique needs of diverse veterans.

“A good understanding of the diverse veteran populations is imperative if the VA is to genuinely resolve the inequities for those at high risk and with the most need,” says the introduction to the first-ever National Veteran Health Equity Report. The report, which contains demographic information on veterans who received VHA care in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, is designed to provide that comparative information on minorities, women, and other veteran groups. For example:

• Although women represented only about 7% of patients in FY2013, their numbers in VHA have more than doubled since 2000—140% growth, far outstripping the 63% growth among men over the same period;
• In FY2013, 46% of veterans were aged ≥ 65 years;
• More than one-third of veterans lived in rural areas;
• Almost one-half of VHA patients had a service-connected disability. All racial/ethnic minority patient groups, compared with whites, were more likely to have a service-connected disability;

• A higher proportion of women had a service-connected disability, and women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression;
• Overall, 33% of VHA patients had ≥ 1 mental health diagnoses. Women and blacks/African Americans were “over-represented” among patients diagnosed with serious mental illness;

• Veterans with serious mental illness also had higher diagnosis rates for musculoskeletal disorders (60% vs 43%) and gastrointestinal conditions (48% vs 30%). In fact, among the top 20 diagnosed conditions, rates for the SMI group exceeded that for the veterans with no mental health diagnosis for 17 conditions by a margin of > 10% for 7. The largest disparities were in tobacco use disorder, psychosocial factors, spine disorders, and housing insufficiency; and
• The only condition in which the diagnosed rate in a racial/ethnic group exceeded that for whites by a margin of 10% was PTSD, diagnosed in 21% of American Indian/Alaska Natives, versus 11% of whites.

Although the report targeted  6 million veterans accessing VA care in FY13, the estimated number of living veterans is about 22 million. It is a “starting place,” the developers promise. Next iterations will continue to evolve to meet the unique needs of diverse veterans.