Leslie R.M. Hausmann ^1*, Kwonho Jeong ², James E. Bost ², Nancy R. Kressin ³, Said A. Ibrahim ⁴

¹ VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion
² University of Pittsburgh Data Center, Center for Research on Health Care
³ Boston VA Healthcare System, Center for Health Quality, Outcomes and Economic Research
⁴ VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: leslie.hausmann{at}gmail.com.

	Abstract

Objectives. We compared rates of perceived racial discrimination in health care settings for veteran and nonveteran patients and for veterans who used the Veterans Affairs health care system and those who did not.

Methods. Data were drawn from the 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We used logistic regression to examine whether perceived racial discrimination in health care was associated with veteran status or use of Veterans Affairs health care, after adjusting for patient characteristics.

Results. In this sample of 35902 people, rates of perceived discrimination were equal for veterans and nonveterans (3.4% and 3.5%, respectively; crude odds ratio [OR]=1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.77, 1.28; adjusted OR=0.92; 95% CI=0.66, 1.28). Among veterans (n=3420), perceived discrimination was more prevalent among patients who used Veterans Affairs facilities than among those who did not (5.4% vs 2.7%; OR=2.08; 95% CI=1.04, 4.18). However, this difference was not significant after adjustment for patient characteristics (OR=1.30;95%CI=0.54, 3.13).

Conclusions. Perceived racial discrimination in health care was equally prevalent among veterans and nonveterans and among veterans who used the Veterans Affairs health care system and those who did not.

Key Words: Health Service Delivery, Race/Ethnicity, Social Science