Scholarlink

Abstract Background <p>Veterans increasingly receive care from both Veterans Affairs (VA) and non-VA providers, creating challenges for care coordination. Limited research has examined racial/ethnic disparities in Veterans’ healthcare experiences across these dual systems.</p> Objective <p>To examine racial/ethnic differences in the healthcare experiences of Veterans regarding provider knowledge of past health problems, maintenance of complete health records, and cross-system awareness, and determine whether disparities differ between VA and non-VA settings.</p> Design <p>Cross-sectional analysis using generalized estimating equations to estimate the differences in positive experiences and decomposition analysis to identify factors explaining disparities.</p> Participants <p>In total, 1885 unique Veterans contributing 2568 respondent-years from the 2018–2019 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Veteran Self-Administered Questionnaire, representing approximately 15.5 million Veteran-years nationally.</p> Main Measures <p>Three self-reported patient experience outcomes: provider knowledge of past health problems, maintenance of complete health records, and provider awareness of care received in other systems.</p> Key Results <p>Non-Hispanic White Veterans reported more positive experiences than Black and Hispanic Veterans for provider knowledge (77.9% vs 62.0% and 61.1%) and record completeness (86.6% vs 72.9% and 67.2%). Disparities were larger in non-VA settings, particularly for record completeness, where the Black–White disparity was 15.5 percentage points larger in non-VA versus VA settings (95% CLs 4.4, 26.6). Cross-system awareness was uniformly low (10–15%) across all groups. Decomposition analysis revealed demographics explained 7.7 percentage points of Hispanic–White disparities in record completeness.</p> Conclusions <p>Although disparities were smaller within VA than non-VA settings, meaningful gaps persist. Targeted interventions to improve care coordination and information sharing, especially in non-VA settings, are needed as community care expands.</p> Clinical Trial Number <p>Not applicable.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Healthcare Experiences for Veterans Receiving Care from VA and Non-VA Providers

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月30日

查看全文
  • Anthony I. Roberts,
  • Linda J. Resnik

摘要

Abstract Background

Veterans increasingly receive care from both Veterans Affairs (VA) and non-VA providers, creating challenges for care coordination. Limited research has examined racial/ethnic disparities in Veterans’ healthcare experiences across these dual systems.

Objective

To examine racial/ethnic differences in the healthcare experiences of Veterans regarding provider knowledge of past health problems, maintenance of complete health records, and cross-system awareness, and determine whether disparities differ between VA and non-VA settings.

Design

Cross-sectional analysis using generalized estimating equations to estimate the differences in positive experiences and decomposition analysis to identify factors explaining disparities.

Participants

In total, 1885 unique Veterans contributing 2568 respondent-years from the 2018–2019 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Veteran Self-Administered Questionnaire, representing approximately 15.5 million Veteran-years nationally.

Main Measures

Three self-reported patient experience outcomes: provider knowledge of past health problems, maintenance of complete health records, and provider awareness of care received in other systems.

Key Results

Non-Hispanic White Veterans reported more positive experiences than Black and Hispanic Veterans for provider knowledge (77.9% vs 62.0% and 61.1%) and record completeness (86.6% vs 72.9% and 67.2%). Disparities were larger in non-VA settings, particularly for record completeness, where the Black–White disparity was 15.5 percentage points larger in non-VA versus VA settings (95% CLs 4.4, 26.6). Cross-system awareness was uniformly low (10–15%) across all groups. Decomposition analysis revealed demographics explained 7.7 percentage points of Hispanic–White disparities in record completeness.

Conclusions

Although disparities were smaller within VA than non-VA settings, meaningful gaps persist. Targeted interventions to improve care coordination and information sharing, especially in non-VA settings, are needed as community care expands.

Clinical Trial Number

Not applicable.