TABLE 1.
Veterans’ Sociodemographic Characteristics
| Characteristic | Overall | Rural VA | Rural CC | Effect Size* | Urban VA | Urban CC | Effect Size† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 1,083,370 | 435,726 | 29,687 | 584,006 | 33,951 | ||
| Age, mean (SD) | 68.92 (11.44) | 69.49 (10.60) | 67.39 (11.03) | 0.19 | 68.81 (11.92) | 64.96 (12.65) | 0.31 |
| Male, mean (SD) | 0.95 (0.23) | 0.96 (0.20) | 0.93 (0.25) | 0.11 | 0.94 (0.24) | 0.90 (0.30) | 0.16 |
| Nosos risk score, mean (SD)‡ | 1.09 (1.44) | 0.99 (1.30) | 1.14 (1.40) | 0.11 | 1.15 (1.52) | 1.27 (1.54) | 0.08 |
| VA priority group, N (%)§ | |||||||
| Unknown | 69 (0.0) | 28 (0.0) | 4 (0.0) | 0.01 | 35 (0.0) | 2 (0.0) | <0.001 |
| 1–2 | 410,224 (37.9) | 156,470 (35.9) | 13,010 (43.8) | 0.16 | 224,139 (38.4) | 16,605 (48.9) | 0.21 |
| 3 | 234,891 (21.7) | 97,050 (22.3) | 6301 (21.2) | 0.03 | 124,502 (21.3) | 7038 (20.7) | 0.01 |
| 4–6 | 438,186 (40.4) | 182,178 (41.8) | 10,372 (34.9) | 0.14 | 235,330 (40.3) | 10,306 (30.4) | 0.21 |
| Race, N (%) | |||||||
| White | 870,438 (80.3) | 378,297 (86.8) | 24,972 (84.1) | 0.08 | 442,005 (75.7) | 25,164 (74.1) | 0.04 |
| Black | 121,098 (11.2) | 23,517 (5.4) | 1753 (5.9) | 0.02 | 90,896 (15.6) | 4932 (14.5) | 0.03 |
| Other | 91,834 (8.5) | 33,912 (7.8) | 2962 (10.0) | 0.08 | 51,105 (8.8) | 3855 (11.4) | 0.09 |
| Marital status, N (%) | |||||||
| Married | 680,813 (62.8) | 292,249 (67.1) | 19,513 (65.7) | 0.03 | 348,708 (59.7) | 20,343 (59.9) | 0.00 |
| Divorced/separated | 240,612 (22.2) | 87,948 (20.2) | 6648 (22.4) | 0.05 | 137,426 (23.5) | 8590 (25.3) | 0.04 |
| Widowed | 68,334 (6.3) | 27,712 (6.4) | 1527 (5.1) | 0.05 | 37,546 (6.4) | 1549 (4.6) | 0.08 |
| Single | 84,307 (7.8) | 24,230 (5.6) | 1710 (5.8) | 0.01 | 55,243 (9.5) | 3124 (9.2) | 0.01 |
| Unknown | 9304 (0.9) | 3587 (0.8) | 289 (1.0) | 0.02 | 5083 (0.9) | 345 (1.0) | 0.02 |
| Education, mean (SD) | 3.85 (1.11) | 3.68 (1.08) | 3.78 (1.08) | 0.09 | 3.98 (1.12) | 4.07 (1.08) | 0.09 |
| Self-rated physical health, mean (SD) | 3.10 (0.99) | 3.13 (0.98) | 3.32 (0.97) | 0.20 | 3.06 (1.00) | 3.25 (0.99) | 0.19 |
| Self-rated mental health, mean (SD) | 2.63 (1.15) | 2.61 (1.13) | 2.81 (1.14) | 0.17 | 2.63 (1.17) | 2.83 (1.18) | 0.18 |
*
Effect size for difference between rural VA and rural CC.
†
Effect size for difference between urban VA and urban CC.
‡
Nosos risk score=risk adjustment score; scores are scaled such that the mean Nosos score =1; scores >1 indicate greater-than-average cost and clinical complexity.
§
Priority/eligibility group=system of assigning priority to Veterans for VA services based on military service, disability rating, income level, and other factors; lower scores indicate higher priority level.
CC indicates community care; SD, standard deviation; VA, Veterans Health Administration.