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Characteristics of Veterans Using Veterans Affairs Community-Based Outpatient Clinics
- Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 13, Number 3, August 2002
- pp. 334-346
- 10.1353/hpu.2010.0731
- Article
- Additional Information
In the late 1990s, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) initiated a system of community-based outpatient clinics to enhance access to care. The purpose of this study was to explore factors that may be related to veterans' desire to transfer care from VA-based to community clinics. Among 1,452 veterans who were currently receiving VA clinic care and were eligible for care in two community-based clinics in rural Minnesota, 85 percent responded to a survey. Fifty-four percent of respondents requested community-based outpatient clinic care. Multivariate analysis revealed that veterans less satisfied with VA care were more likely to request a transfer to a community clinic, whereas Veterans SF-36 scale scores were not strongly associated with request for community-based outpatient clinic care. Veterans who had more VA clinic visits were less likely to request community-based outpatient clinic care. The likelihood of requesting also varied across the VA facilities and by VA eligibility level.