Demographic Characteristics among Those with Scheduled Veterans Affairs Appointments around a Natural Disaster (Weeks −12 to 12, with Storm Landfall during Week 0)
| Unaffected Areas (n = 197,724) | Affected Areas (n = 56,790) | Statistically Significant* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years), week 0 | Yes | ||
| <45 | 8.8 | 10.9 | |
| 45–64 | 46.1 | 48.5 | |
| ≥65 | 45.1 | 40.6 | |
| Sex | Yes | ||
| Male | 94.5 | 93.0 | |
| Female | 4.7 | 6.1 | |
| Missing/unclear | 0.8 | 0.8 | |
| Race/ethnicity | Yes | ||
| White/non-Hispanic | 66.1 | 54.2 | |
| Hispanic | 0.2 | 1.5 | |
| African American | 12.6 | 19.7 | |
| Other | 1.7 | 0.9 | |
| Missing | 19.4 | 23.7 | |
| Service connection | Yes | ||
| <50% | 72.5 | 76.1 | |
| >50% | 27.5 | 23.8 | |
| Dual Medicaid | 0.1 | 0.1 | No |
| Dual Medicare | 49.5 | 42.4 | Yes |
| Missed appointment in past 12 months | 33.9 | 43.8 | Yes |
| Veterans Affairs inpatient stay in past 12 months | 9.7 | 11.2 | Yes |
Data are percentages. For this analysis, affected areas included 1 Veterans Affairs medical center (VAMC) plus 4 distinct outpatient clinic locations, whereas unaffected areas included 9 VAMCs and 32 distinct outpatient clinic locations.
↵* P < .001, χ2 or 2-sided t test.