Health and health care utilization among U.S. veterans denied VA disability compensation
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Fried, Dennis Adrian.
Health and health care utilization among U.S. veterans denied VA disability compensation. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/T3CN75MV
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TitleHealth and health care utilization among U.S. veterans denied VA disability compensation
Date Created2015
Other Date2015-01 (degree)
Extent1 online resource (ix, 129 p. : ill.)
DescriptionBackground: The general consensus in studies of individuals seeking federal disability compensation was that individuals denied disability compensation were healthier than those awarded. In contrast, studies of veterans seeking VA disability compensation suggest that denied applicants may be as impaired or more impaired than those awarded, and may use less health care. Because veterans denied VA disability compensation may have increased risks of poverty, homelessness, and poor long-term health, a more thorough understanding of their health, and health care utilization is warranted. Methods: This dissertation used data from the 2001 National Survey of Veterans (NSV). Overall self-reported health, physical and mental functioning, and limitations in activities of daily living were used as subjective measures of health status, while VA and non-VA outpatient health care visit counts were used to measure service-use intensity. In study 2, logistic regression was used to analyze associations between VA disability compensation award status and four separate measures of health status. In study 3, zero-inflated negative binomial regression was used to examine associations between VA outpatient health care visit counts and VA disability compensation award status, while zero-inflated poisson regression and negative binomial regression were used separately to examine associations between non-VA outpatient health care visit counts and VA disability compensation award status. All analyses were design-based. Results: VA disability compensation award status (denied vs. awarded) was associated with increased odds of poor overall health (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.27, 1.75), limitations in activities of daily living (OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.01, 1.19), and never using VA outpatient health care (OR = 4.79, 95% CI = 1.58, 922), and decreased odds of better physical functioning (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.95, 0.98). Conclusion: The broad picture of denied applicants that emerges from available data shows them, compared to awarded applicants, to have comparative poor health, and a greater likelihood of never using VA outpatient health care services.
NotePh.D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Noteby Dennis Adrian Fried
Genretheses, ETD doctoral
Languageeng
CollectionGraduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.