Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Patient Engagement in VA Health Care: Does Gender Play a Role?

Etingen B, Miskevics SA, Malhiot A, LaVela SL. Patient Engagement in VA Health Care: Does Gender Play a Role? Defence and Peace Economics. 2020 Jan 2; 31(1):24-33.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

The objectives of this study were to compare gender differences in patient activation (i.e. engagement) among Veteran VA health care users, and determine if high engagement is associated with gender. A mailed national survey with Veterans provided demographics and the main outcome, patient engagement (e.g. Patient Activation Measure (PAM) scores). Administrative databases identified: history of military sexual trauma, illness severity (e.g. Charlson Comorbidity Index scores). Bivariate comparisons were conducted by gender, and multivariate logistic regression examined whether patient engagement was independently associated with being a woman Veteran, when controlling for confounders. Bivariate analyses revealed that women Veterans (vs. male Veterans) Veterans reported higher average levels of engagement (59.72 vs. 56.00, p = 0.0008). Multivariate analyses revealed that women Veterans were 1.5 times more likely than male Veterans to report being most highly engaged in their health/health care (e.g. activation scores classified as PAM level 4) [OR = 1.52, CI95 1.06-2.18, p = 0.0079]. Collectively, results indicate that women Veterans are more engaged in their health/health care than male Veterans are. Improvement efforts should focus on narrowing gender differences in patient engagement in health/health care among Veterans receiving care from the VA.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.
<--- --->