Which Veterans Go to VA Psychiatric Hospitals for Care: A Pilot Study
Gordon D. Strauss M.D.1,
David A. Sack M.D.2, and
Ira Lesser M.D.3
1 The Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, The Residency Education Service at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Brentwood Division, Los Angeles
2 Inpatient Services in the Clinical Psychobiology Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health
3 The Department of Psychiatry at UCLA, The Adult Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic at the UCLA-Harbor Medical Center
The Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA School of Medicine, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90024
In a study to determine whether certain factors could predict whether veterans seek psychiatric care at a Veterans Administration psychiatric hospital or at other public hospitals, data were collected on 644 visits by veterans to one VA psychiatric hospital and two non-VA public hospitals. Race, alcoholism, number of presenting Problems, kind of prior psychiatric hospitalizations, and whether the disability was service-connected were significant factors in distinguishing veterans seeking psychiatric care at the different hospitals. Age, marial status, income, and transiency were not important factors. Minority status and alcoholism appeared to be independent of each other in predicting greater use of the VA hospital.
Note:
The authors thank John Landsverk, Ph.D., for advice and assistance in processing and analyzing the data.
