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Access to Care for Women Veterans: Delayed Healthcare and Unmet Need

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ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND

Timely access to healthcare is essential to ensuring optimal health outcomes, and not surprisingly, is at the heart of healthcare reform efforts. While the Veterans Health Administration (VA) has made improved access a priority, women veterans still underutilize VA healthcare relative to men. Eliminating access disparities requires a better understanding of the barriers to care that women veterans’ experience.

OBJECTIVE

We examined the association of general and veteran-specific barriers on access to healthcare among women veterans.

DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS

Cross-sectional, population-based national telephone survey of 3,611 women veterans.

MAIN MEASURE

Delayed healthcare or unmet healthcare need in the prior 12 months.

KEY RESULTS

Of women veterans, 19% had delayed healthcare or unmet need, with higher rates in younger age groups (36%, 29%, 16%, 7%, respectively, in 18–34, 35–49, 50–64, and 65-plus age groups; p < 0.001). Among those delaying or going without care, barriers that varied by age group were: unaffordable healthcare (63% of 18–34 versus 12% of 65-plus age groups); inability to take off from work (39% of those <50); and transportation difficulties (36% of 65-plus). Controlling for age, race/ethnicity, regular source of care, and health status, being uninsured (OR = 6.5; confidence interval [CI] 3.0–14.0), knowledge gaps about VA care (OR = 2.1; 95% CI 1.1–4.0), perception that VA providers are not gender-sensitive (OR = 2.4; CI 1.2–4.7), and military sexual assault history (OR = 2.1; CI 1.1–4.0) predicted delaying or foregoing care, whereas VA use and enrollment priority did not.

CONCLUSIONS

Both general and veteran-specific factors impact women veterans’ access to needed services. Many of the identified access barriers are potentially modifiable through expanded VA healthcare and social services. Health reform efforts should address these barriers for VA nonusers. Efforts are also warranted to improve women veterans’ knowledge of availability and affordability of VA healthcare, and to enhance the gender-sensitivity of this care.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards, Women Veterans Health Strategic Healthcare Group, and the VA Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Service (#SDR-08-270). Dr. Yano is supported by a VA HSR&D Research Career Scientist award (#RCS-05-195). Dr. Bean-Mayberry was supported by a VA HSR&D Research Career Development Transition award (#RCD 02–039) during this study. Dr. Washington had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. The authors gratefully acknowledge Mark Canning for project management, Julia Yosef, MA for assistance with survey fieldwork, Su Sun, MPH for assistance with data management, and Michael Mitchell, PhD, for statistical assistance. The views expressed within are solely those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States government.

Conflicts of Interest

All authors are employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Drs. Washington, Bean-Mayberry, and Yano receive research funding from the VA Health Services Research and Development Service. Drs. Washington and Yano receive funding from the VA Office of Patient Care Services.

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Correspondence to Donna L. Washington MD, MPH.

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Washington, D.L., Bean-Mayberry, B., Riopelle, D. et al. Access to Care for Women Veterans: Delayed Healthcare and Unmet Need. J GEN INTERN MED 26 (Suppl 2), 655 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-011-1772-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-011-1772-z

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