Rural and Urban Home Modification Program Users: A Comparative Study

OBJECTIVE

To understand the sociodemographic, geographical, and clinical characteristics of rural veterans utilizing home modification (HM) healthcare services under the Home Improvement Structural Alterations (HISA) program, to compare these characteristics between rural and urban veteran users, to estimate the costs of HMs performed, and to present distance that users traveled to HISA-prescribing medical facilities within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA).

BACKGROUND

Accessible housing is in short supply. HMs allow veterans with disabilities (VWDs) to remain living at home rather than enter institutional-type settings. HISA is associated with decreased inpatient hospitalization rates and increased use of preventative healthcare via outpatient clinic visits. Home accessibility provides psychological benefits improving social interactions and interaction with the physical environment.

METHODS

This retrospective database study analyzes data from the National Prosthetics Patient Database and other medical datasets within the VHA.

RESULTS

Results provide a profile of and comparison between rural and urban veteran users. HISA users are substantially older compared to younger VWDs. The frequency of bathroom, railing, and wooden ramp HMs differed significantly between rural and urban users (p values < .001). Rural users traveled more miles than urban users to reach a prescribing facility.

CONCLUSIONS

Older adults and individuals with disabilities have unmet housing needs since accessible housing is in short supply. This HM healthcare service is helping to meet the housing accessibility needs of older veterans, VWDs, older adults, and people with disabilities, in general.

Implementing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) into VHA Home Based Primary Care

The Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) program provides comprehensive in-home primary care services to elderly Veterans with complex chronic medical conditions. Nurses have prominent roles in HBPC including as program leaders, primary care providers and nurses who make home visits. Delivery of primary care services to patients in their homes can be challenging due to travel distances, difficult terrain, traffic, and adverse weather. Mapmaking with geographic information systems (GIS) can support optimization of resource utilization, travel efficiency, program capacity, and management during normal operations, and patient safety during disasters. This paper reports on the feasibility, acceptability and outcomes of an initiative to implement GIS mapmaking in VHA HBPC programs. A mixed method evaluation assessed extent of adoption and identified facilitators and barriers to uptake. Results indicate that GIS mapping in VHA HBPC is feasible and can increase effectiveness and efficiency of VHA HBPC nurses.

Occupational Hazard: Disruptive Behavior in Patients

Accurate reporting of disruptive behavior enables the development of strategies that provide for the safe delivery of health care to patients.

Comparing Survival Following Hip Fracture Repair in VHA and Non-VHA Facilities

INTRODUCTION

Although postsurgical outcomes are similar between Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and non-VHA hospitals for many procedures, no studies have compared 30-day and 1-year survival following hip fracture repair. Therefore, this study compared survival of veterans aged 65 years and older treated in VHA hospitals with a propensity-matched cohort of Medicare beneficiaries in non-VHA hospitals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Retrospective cohort study of 1894 hip fracture repair patients in VHA or non-VHA hospitals between 2003 and 2005. Current Procedural Terminology codes identified 3542 male patients aged >65 years who had hip fracture repair between 2003 and 2005 in the Veterans Affairs' National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. The Medicare comparison sample was drawn from 2003 to 2005 Medicare Part A inpatient hospital claims files. To create comparable VHA and Medicare cohorts, patients were propensity score matched on age, admission source (community vs. nursing home), repair type, comorbidity index, race, year, and region. Thirty-day and 1-year survival after surgery were compared between cohorts after further adjustment for selected comorbidities, year of surgery, and pre- and postsurgical length of hospital stay using logistic regression.

RESULTS

Odds of survival were significantly better in the Medicare than the VHA cohort at 30 days (1.68, 95% CI 1.15-2.44) and 1 year (1.35, 95% CI 1.08-1.69).

CONCLUSION

Medicare beneficiaries with hip fracture repair in non-VHA hospitals had better survival than veterans in VHA hospitals. Whether this is driven by unobserved patient characteristics or systematic care differences is unknown.

Using geographic information system tools to improve access to MS specialty care in Veterans Health Administration

Access to appropriate and timely healthcare is critical to the overall health and well-being of patients with chronic diseases. In this study, we used geographic information system (GIS) tools to map Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and their access to MS specialty care. We created six travel-time bands around VHA facilities with MS specialty care and calculated the number of VHA patients with MS who resided in each time band and the number of patients who lived more than 2 hours from the nearest specialty clinic in fiscal year 2007. We demonstrate the utility of using GIS tools in decision-making by providing three examples of how patients' access to care is affected when additional specialty clinics are added. The mapping technique used in this study provides a powerful and valuable tool for policy and planning personnel who are evaluating how to address underserved populations and areas within the VHA healthcare system.