Citation

Sayer NA, Orazem RJ, Noorbaloochi S, Gravely A, Frazier P, Carlson KF, Schnurr PP, Oleson H. Adm. Policy Ment. Health 2014; 42(4): 493-503.

Affiliation

Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, Minneapolis VA Healthcare System, One Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN, 55417, USA, nina.sayer@va.gov.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10488-014-0564-2

PMID

24913102

Abstract

We studied 1,292 Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans who participated in a clinical trial of expressive writing to estimate the prevalence of perceived reintegration difficulty and compare Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare users to nonusers in terms of demographic and clinical characteristics. About half of participants perceived reintegration difficulty. VA users and nonusers differed in age and military background. Levels of mental and physical problems were higher in VA users. In multivariate analysis, military service variables and probable traumatic brain injury independently predicted VA use.

FINDINGS demonstrate the importance of research comparing VA users to nonusers to understand veteran healthcare needs.

Language: en