Disparities in Health Behaviors and Chronic Conditions in Health Care Providers in the Veterans Health Administration

Objective: To determine baseline prevalence of health behaviors and chronic health conditions in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) employees and highlight disparities by occupation group. Methods: There were 29,834 responses to the survey. Age-standardized prevalence estimates for VHA employees w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of occupational and environmental medicine 2011-10, Vol.53 (10), p.1134-1145
Main Authors: Schult, Tamara M., Awosika, Ebi R., Hodgson, Michael J., Dyrenforth, Sue
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Arthritis - epidemiology
Asthma - epidemiology
Biological and medical sciences
Chronic illnesses
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - epidemiology
Female
Health behavior
Health Behavior - ethnology
Health participants
Health Personnel - statistics & numerical data
Health Promotion
Health Status Disparities
Health Surveys
Humans
Hypertension - epidemiology
Male
Medical personnel
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Occupational Health
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
United States - epidemiology
United States Department of Veterans Affairs - statistics & numerical data
Veterans
Wellness programs
Workplace
Young Adult
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Summary:Objective: To determine baseline prevalence of health behaviors and chronic health conditions in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) employees and highlight disparities by occupation group. Methods: There were 29,834 responses to the survey. Age-standardized prevalence estimates for VHA employees were compared to national estimates from BRFSS surveys. The VHA estimates were analyzed for physicians and dentists; physician assistants and nurse practitioners; registered nurses; licensed practical nurses and nursing assistants; other clinical; nonclinical; and wage grade staff. Multilevel regression explored the effect of worksite. Results: The VHA employees have higher rates of unhealthy behaviors and chronic health conditions than US adults, except for smoking. Results illustrated significant disparities between occupation groups by demographics and variability by worksite. Conclusions: Veterans Health Administration's population appears less healthy than the US general population. Disparities between occupation groups support the establishment of targeted health promotion programs, with attention paid to differences in local culture.
ISSN:1076-2752
1536-5948
DOI:10.1097/JOM.0b013e31822b8379