Abstract

Spatial Factors Influencing Veterans Health Care Choices
Track: Health and Human Services
Authors: Chase Gatlin, Mark Guagliardo

Approximately 40 percent of the 23 million military Veterans are enrolled with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Planning for a population this large requires a solid understanding of why Veterans choose to enroll. Much has been done in the form of surveys and analyses of administrative data to understand drivers of enrollment, but only isolated cases of GIS analysis have been done. To bridge this deficiency we developed projection models to compare the spatial distribution of the overall Veteran population versus the enrolled population. Additionally, we conducted inferential statistical methods to identify possible causes and correlations of high and low enrollment rates in selected areas. This analysis included known factors in the enrollment decision (proximity to VHA facilities, income, number of providers, and quality indicators) to enhance the predictive capability of regression analysis. We believe this analysis will add to the information regarding why Veterans choose to enroll in VHA.