Hospital Catchment Areas Characteristics and Geographic Regions Associated With Higher COVID-19 Veterans Health Administration Hospitalization During the Omicron Surge.

CONTEXT: Surges in the ongoing coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic and accompanying increases in hospitalizations continue to strain hospital systems. Identifying hospital-level characteristics associated with COVID-19 hospitalization rates and clusters of hospitalization "hot spots" can help with hospital system planning and resource allocation. OBJECTIVE: To identify (1) hospital catchment area-level characteristics associated with higher COVID-19 hospitalization rates and (2) geographic regions with high and low COVID-19 hospitalization rates across catchment areas during COVID-19 Omicron surge (December 20, 2021-April 3, 2022). DESIGN: This observational study used Veterans Health Administration (VHA), US Health Resource & Services Administration's Area Health Resources File, and US Census data. We used multivariate regression to identified hospital catchment area-level characteristics associated with COVID-19 hospitalization rates. We used ESRI ArcMap's Getis-Ord Gi* statistic to identify catchment area clusters of hospitalization hot and cold spots. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: VHA hospital catchment areas in the United States (n = 143). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hospitalization rate. RESULTS: Greater COVID-19 hospitalization was associated with serving more high hospitalization risk patients (34.2 hospitalizations/10 000 patients per 10-percentage point increase in high hospitalization risk patients; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 29.4, 39.0), fewer patients new to VHA during the pandemic (-3.9, 95% CI: -6.2, -1.6), and fewer COVID vaccine-boosted patients (-5.2; 95% CI: -7.9, -2.5).We identified 2 hospitalization cold spots located in the Pacific Northwest and in the Great Lakes regions, and 2 hot spots in the Great Plains and Southeastern US regions. CONCLUSIONS: Within VHA's nationally integrated health care system, catchment areas serving a larger high hospitalization risk patient population were associated with more Omicron-related hospitalizations, while serving more patients fully vaccinated and boosted for COVID-19 and new VHA users were associated with lower hospitalization. Hospital and health care system efforts to vaccinate patients, particularly high-risk patients, can potentially safeguard against pandemic surges.Hospitalization hot spots within VHA include states with a high burden of chronic disease in the Great Plains and Southeastern United States.

Measuring Gender Role Conflict, Internalized Stigma, and Racial and Sexual Identity in Behaviorally Bisexual Black Men.

Black men who have sex with men and women (BMSMW) experience pressure to fill hypermasculine ideals and may not identify with "gay" cultural norms. Existing measures of gender role expectations and internalized homophobia are not culturally appropriate for BMSMW. Researchers generally measure categorical identification with race, gender, and sexual orientation groups separately, whereas BMSMW may identify with multiple categories. We modified the Gender Role Conflict Scale to create the M-GRCS and the Internalized Homophobia Scale to include biphobia (Internalized Bi/Homophobia Scale, IBHS). To examine identification at the intersection of race, gender, and sexual orientation, we created 11 Integrated Race and Sexuality Scale (IRSS) items. With data from 429 BMSMW, we conducted exploratory factor analysis of the 59 items using categorical principal axis factoring with unweighted least squares extraction and Promax factor rotation. We created simple-summated multi-item scales and evaluated their construct validity. The rotated solution yielded four factors with 47 items and a simple factor structure: M-GRCS defined two factors (α = .93 for restricted emotionality/affection; .87 for success/power/competition); the IBHS (α = .89) and IRSS (α = .74) each defined a single factor. The IRSS factor was positively correlated with the Lukwago Racial Pride Scale, r(417) = .40. The IBHS factor was negatively correlated with the IRSS factor, r(414) = - .22. The two M-GRCS factors suggest that the construct of hypermasculinity impacts BMSMW. The high IBHS reliability indicates that homophobia and biphobia were positively correlated in this sample. These three scales have potential for future studies with BMSMW.

Unmet Medical Needs Among Adults Who Move due to Unaffordable Housing: California Health Interview Survey, 2011-2017.

BACKGROUND: Stable, affordable housing is an established determinant of health. As affordable housing shortages across the USA threaten to displace people from their homes, it is important to understand the implications of cost-related residential moves for healthcare access. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between cost-related moves and unmet medical needs. DESIGN: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 7 waves (2011-2017) of the California Health Interview Survey. PARTICIPANTS: We included all respondents ages 18 and older. MAIN MEASURES: The primary predictor variable was residential move history in the past 5 years (cost-related move, non-cost-related move, or no move). The primary outcome was unmet medical needs in the past year (necessary medications and/or medical care that were delayed or not received). KEY RESULTS: Our sample included 146,417 adults (42-47% response rate), representing a weighted population of 28,518,590. Overall, 20.3% of the sample reported unmet medical needs in the past year, and 4.9% reported a cost-related move in the past 5 years. In multivariable logistic regression models, adjusted risk of unmet medical needs increased for adults with both cost-related moves (aOR 1.38; 95% CI 1.19-1.59) and non-cost-related moves (aOR 1.17; 95% CI 1.09-1.26) compared to those with no moves. Among people who had moved, those with cost-related moves were more likely to report unmet medical needs compared to people with non-cost-related moves (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: People who have moved due to unaffordable housing represent a population at increased risk for unmet medical needs. Policy makers seeking to improve population health should consider strategies to limit cost-related moves and to mitigate their adverse effects on healthcare access.

Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy Achieves Greater Pain Reduction than Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Older Adults with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Preliminary Randomized Comparison Trial.

OBJECTIVE: Emotional awareness and expression therapy (EAET) emphasizes the importance of the central nervous system and emotional processing in the etiology and treatment of chronic pain. Prior trials suggest EAET can substantially reduce pain; however, only one has compared EAET with an established alternative, demonstrating some small advantages over cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for fibromyalgia. The current trial compared EAET with CBT in older, predominately male, ethnically diverse veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain. DESIGN: Randomized comparison trial. SETTING: Outpatient clinics at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. SUBJECTS: Fifty-three veterans (mean age = 73.5 years, 92.4% male) with chronic musculoskeletal pain. METHODS: Patients were randomized to EAET or CBT, each delivered as one 90-minute individual session and eight 90-minute group sessions. Pain severity (primary outcome), pain interference, anxiety, and other secondary outcomes were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and three-month follow-up. RESULTS: EAET produced significantly lower pain severity than CBT at post-treatment and follow-up; differences were large (partial η2 = 0.129 and 0.157, respectively). At post-treatment, 41.7% of EAET patients had >30% pain reduction, one-third had >50%, and 12.5% had >70%. Only one CBT patient achieved at least 30% pain reduction. Secondary outcomes demonstrated small to medium effect size advantages of EAET over CBT, although only post-treatment anxiety reached statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: This trial, although preliminary, supports prior research suggesting that EAET may be a treatment of choice for many patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Psychotherapy may achieve substantial pain reduction if pain neuroscience principles are emphasized and avoided emotions are processed.

A Quasi-experimental Evaluation of Performance Improvement Teams in the Safety-Net: A Labor-Management Partnership Model for Engaging Frontline Staff.

BACKGROUND: Unit-based teams (UBTs), initially developed by Kaiser Permanente and affiliated unions, are natural work groups of clinicians, managers, and frontline staff who work collaboratively to identify areas for improvement and implement solutions. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the UBT model implemented by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services in partnership with its union to engage frontline staff in improving patient care. DESIGN: We conducted a quasi-experimental study, comparing surveys at baseline and 6 months, among personnel in 10 clinics who received UBT training to personnel in 5 control clinics. We also interviewed staff from 5 clinics that received UBT training and 3 control clinics. PARTICIPANTS: We conducted 330 surveys and 38 individual, semi-structured interviews with staff at an outpatient facility in South Los Angeles. INTERVENTIONS: Each UBT leader received an 8-hour training in basic performance improvement methods, and each UBT was assigned a team "coach." MAIN MEASURES: Our outcome measure was 6-month change in the "adaptive reserve" score, the units' self-reported ability to make and sustain change. We analyzed transcripts of the interviews to find common themes regarding the UBT intervention. KEY RESULTS: The survey response rate was 63% (158/252) at baseline and 75% (172/231) at 6 months. There was a significant difference-in-change in adaptive reserve between UBTs and non-UBTs at 6 months (+0.11 vs -0.13; P = .02). Nine of the 10 UBTs reported increases in adaptive reserve and 8 UBTs reported decreased no-show rates or patient length of stay in clinic. Staff overwhelmingly felt the UBTs were a positive intervention because it allowed all levels of staff to have a voice in improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that partnership between management and unions to engage frontline staff in teams may be a useful tool to improve delivery of health care in a safety-net setting.

Investigation of the role of perceived access to primary care in mediating and moderating racial and ethnic disparities in chronic disease control in the veterans health administration.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of patient-perceived access to primary care in mediating and moderating racial and ethnic disparities in hypertension control and diabetes control among Veterans Health Administration (VA) users. DATA SOURCE AND STUDY SETTING: We performed a secondary analysis of national VA user administrative data for fiscal years 2016-2019. STUDY DESIGN: Our primary exposure was race or ethnicity and primary outcomes were binary indicators of hypertension control (<140/90 mmHg) and diabetes control (HgbA1c < 9%) among patients with known disease. We used the inverse odds-weighting method to test for mediation and logistic regression with race and ethnicity-by-perceived access interaction product terms to test moderation. All models were adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, rurality, education, self-rated physical and mental health, and comorbidities. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: We included VA users with hypertension and diabetes control data from the External Peer Review Program who had contemporaneously completed the Survey of Healthcare Experience of Patients-Patient-Centered Medical Home. Hypertension (34,233 patients) and diabetes (23,039 patients) samples were analyzed separately. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: After adjustment, Black patients had significantly lower rates of hypertension control than White patients (75.5% vs. 78.8%, p < 0.01); both Black (81.8%) and Hispanic (80.4%) patients had significantly lower rates of diabetes control than White patients (85.9%, p < 0.01 for both differences). Perceived access was lower among Black, Multi-Race and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders compared to White patients in both samples. There was no evidence that perceived access mediated or moderated associations between Black race, Hispanic ethnicity, and hypertension or diabetes control. CONCLUSIONS: We observed disparities in hypertension and diabetes control among minoritized patients. There was no evidence that patients' perception of access to primary care mediated or moderated these disparities. Reducing racial and ethnic disparities within VA in hypertension and diabetes control may require interventions beyond those focused on improving patient access.

COVID-19 Infection and Mortality in State Veterans Homes: A Multilevel Approach.

OBJECTIVES: Some state veterans homes (SVHs) received media attention in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic because of allegations of poor infection control and excess mortality. However, little research has investigated how these facilities differ from community nursing homes (CNHs) and what the geographical trends of these infection and mortality differences are. We aimed to test (1) whether infection was overall lower in SVHs than CNHs, (2) whether mortality was overall lower in SVHs than CNHs, as well as the geographic distribution of nursing home infection and mortality across the United States. DESIGN: Retrospective nationwide cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Skilled nursing facilities in the United States from May 2020 to July 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Using multilevel negative binomial regression, we modeled COVID-19 infection and mortality rates in skilled nursing homes, testing for overall SVH differences from May 2020 to July 2022, placing random effects on counties to calculate adjusted county-level infection and mortality rates. RESULTS: SVHs experienced 18% fewer cases but 25% more deaths overall compared with CNHs. Counties with the highest levels of facility infection, including counties with SVHs, were situated mainly in Midwestern, Atlantic, and Southern states, with the majority of counties with low infection levels in Central and Western states. Counties with the highest levels of facility mortality emerged in Rust Belt and Midwestern states down to Southern states, with the lowest levels of county-level mortality, particularly among counties containing SVHs, occurring westward to Central and Western states. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: SVHs experienced lower infection levels but higher mortality levels than CNHs, and fewer extremely high infection and mortality rates in counties containing SVHs despite higher mortality risk in SVHs, calling attention to unobserved facility-level differences such as gender and age distributions and future research opportunities using more granular geographical aggregations to better understand facility-level SVH risk within the broader neighborhood context.

Evaluation of regional variation in racial and ethnic differences in patient experience among Veterans Health Administration primary care users.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate racial and ethnic differences in patient experience among VA primary care users at the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) level. DATA SOURCE AND STUDY SETTING: We performed a secondary analysis of the VA Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients-Patient Centered Medical Home for fiscal years 2016-2019. STUDY DESIGN: We compared 28 patient experience measures (six each in the domains of access and care coordination, 16 in the domain of person-centered care) between minoritized racial and ethnic groups (American Indian or Alaska Native [AIAN], Asian, Black, Hispanic, Multi-Race, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander [NHOPI]) and White Veterans. We used weighted logistic regression to test differences between minoritized and White Veterans, controlling for age and gender. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: We defined meaningful difference as both statistically significant at two-tailed p < 0.05 with a relative difference ≥10% or ≤-10%. Within VISNs, we included tests of group differences with adequate power to detect meaningful relative differences from a minimum of five comparisons (domain agnostic) per VISN, and separately for a minimum of two for access and care coordination and four for person-centered care domains. We report differences as disparities/large disparities (relative difference ≥10%/≥ 25%), advantages (experience worse or better, respectively, than White patients), or equivalence. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Our analytic sample included 1,038,212 Veterans (0.6% AIAN, 1.4% Asian, 16.9% Black, 7.4% Hispanic, 0.8% Multi-Race, 0.8% NHOPI, 67.7% White). Across VISNs, the greatest proportion of comparisons indicated disparities for three of seven eligible VISNs for AIAN, 6/10 for Asian, 3/4 for Multi-Race, and 2/6 for NHOPI Veterans. The plurality of comparisons indicated advantages or equivalence for 17/18 eligible VISNs for Black and 12/14 for Hispanic Veterans. AIAN, Asian, Multi-Race, and NHOPI groups had more comparisons indicating disparities by VISN in the access domain than person-centered care and care coordination. CONCLUSIONS: We found meaningful differences in patient experience measures across VISNs for minoritized compared to White groups, especially for groups with lower population representation.

Time-motion analysis of emergency radiologists and emergency physicians at an urban academic medical center.

Our objective was to characterize the tasks of emergency radiologists and emergency physicians and quantify the proportion of time spent on these tasks to assess their roles in patient evaluation. Our study involved emergency radiologists and emergency physicians at an urban academic level I trauma medical center. Participants were observed for continuous 2-h periods during which all of their activities were timed and categorized into the following tasks: patient history, patient physical findings, assessment/plan, procedures, technical/administration, paperwork, and personal time. We performed multivariate analyses to compare the proportion of time spent on task categories between specialties. Twenty physicians (10 emergency medicine and 10 radiology) were observed for a total of 146,802 s (2,446.7 min). Radiologists spent a significantly larger combined proportion of time on determining physical findings and paperwork than emergency physicians (61.9 vs. 28.3 %, p<0.0001). Emergency physicians spent a significantly larger proportion of time than radiologists on determining patient history (17.5 vs. 2.5 %, p=0.0008) and assessment/plan (42.3 vs. 19.3 %, p<0.0001). Both specialties devoted minimal time toward personal tasks. Radiologists play a major role in the diagnostic evaluation of a subset of acute patients, spending significantly more of their time determining physical findings than their emergency physician counterparts.

Provider discussion of health goals and psychosocial needs: Comparing older to younger veteran experience.

OBJECTIVE: To examine by age, the veterans' report on whether components of age-friendly health systems were discussed during primary care visits. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING: Veterans Affairs (VA) Survey of Healthcare Experience of Patients from October 2015 to September 2019. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of VA users by age group (18-44 years, 45-64 years, 65+ years; N = 1,042,318). We used weighted logistic regression models to evaluate disparities in whether veterans discussed with anyone in their provider's office: health goals, depression symptoms, stress, personal problems, and medications. Models were adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics (sex, socioeconomic status, education, rurality) and comorbidity. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHOD: Surveys were administered by mail and online. Additional veteran characteristics were extracted from VA administrative data. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In unadjusted analyses, VA users age 18-44 had a higher (-8.2%; CI: -9.0, -7.3) and users aged 45 to 64 had lower (4.0%; CI: 3.7, 4.3) predicted, probably discussing health goals compared to age 65+. Fewer VA users age 65+ reported discussing depression symptoms, personal problems, and stress than other age groups, whereas more VA users age 65+ discussed medications. Results were unchanged after adjusting for socio-demographics and comorbidity. CONCLUSIONS: Delivery of goal-concordant care relies on understanding the needs of individual patients. Lower rates of discussing what matters and mood represent potential missed opportunities to deliver age-friendly care for older veterans.

Serious Mental Illness Diagnosis and COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in the Veterans Health Administration.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the association between serious mental illness diagnoses and COVID-19 vaccination among Veterans Health Administration (VHA) patients. METHODS: The sample (N=4,890,693) comprised veterans ages ≥18 years with VHA outpatient visits from March 1, 2018, through February 29, 2020. Veterans with serious mental illness were identified with ICD-10 diagnostic codes from electronic health records of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Receipt of a VHA COVID-19 vaccine from December 1, 2020, through June 1, 2021, was documented by using procedure codes. Treatment effects estimation with inverse-probability weighting was used to estimate the effects of serious mental illness on COVID-19 vaccine uptake. RESULTS: Patients with serious mental illness and patients without serious mental illness were equally likely to receive a vaccination (48% and 46%, respectively; average effect of serious mental illness=-0.4%, 95% confidence interval=-0.8% to 0.1%). CONCLUSIONS: VHA outreach activities have contributed to equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Examining telehealth use among primary care patients, providers, and clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: At the onset of COVID-19, there was a rapid expansion of telehealth (video/telephone) visits to maintain delivery of primary care (PC) services at the Veterans Health Administration (VA). This study examines patient, provider, and site-level characteristics of any virtual and video-based care in PC. METHODS: Interrupted time series (ITS) design was conducted using VA administrative/clinical, electronic healthcare data, 12-months before and 12-months after COVID-19 onset (set at March 2020) at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (GLA), between 2019 and 2021. Patients with at least one visit to a VA PC clinic at GLA (n = 547,730 visits) were included in the analysis. The two main outcomes for this study were 1) any telehealth (versus in-person), as well as 2) video-based care (versus telephone). For the ITS analysis, segmented logistic regression on repeated monthly observations of any telehealth and video-based care was used. RESULTS: Percent telehealth and video use increased from 13.9 to 63.1%, and 0.3 to 11.3%, respectively, before to after COVID-19 onset. According to adjusted percentages, GLA community-based clinics (37.7%, versus 29.8% in hospital-based clinics, p < .001), social workers/pharmacists/dietitians (53.7%, versus 34.0% for PC clinicians, p < .001), and minority groups, non-Hispanic African Americans (36.3%) and Hispanics (34.4%, versus 35.3% for Whites, p < .001) were more likely to use telephone than video. Conversely, mental health providers (43.3%) compared to PC clinicians (15.3%), and women (for all age groups, except 75+) compared to men, were more likely to use video than telephone (all p's < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Since telehealth care provision is likely to continue after COVID-19, additional research is needed to identify which PC outpatient services are better suited for telephone (e.g., case management) versus video-based care (e.g., integrated mental health visits). Additionally, it is important to understand how all clinics can systematically increase access to both telephone- and video-based PC services, while ensuring equitable care for all patient populations.

The Role of Community-Level Factors on Disparities in COVID-19 Infection Among American Indian/Alaska Native Veterans.

OBJECTIVES: American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study examines whether neighborhood characteristics mediate AI/AN versus White-non-Hispanic Veteran COVID-19 infection disparities, and whether mediation differs based on proximity to reservations. METHODS: Using Veteran Health Administration's (VHA) national database of VHA users evaluated for COVID-19 infection (3/1/2020-8/25/2020), we examined whether census tract neighborhood characteristics (percent households overcrowded, without complete plumbing, without kitchen plumbing, and neighborhood socioeconomic status [n-SES]) mediated racial disparities in COVID-19 infection, using inverse odds-weighted logistic models controlling for individual-level characteristics. Using moderated mediation analyses, we assessed whether neighborhood mediating effects on disparities differed for those residing in counties containing/near federally recognized tribal lands (i.e., Contract Health Service Delivery Area [CHSDA] counties) versus not. RESULTS: The percent of households without complete plumbing, percent without kitchen plumbing, and n-SES partially mediated AI/AN-White-non-Hispanic COVID-19 infection disparities (accounting for 17-35% of disparity) to a similar extent in CHSDA and non-CHSDA counties. The percent of households without kitchen plumbing had stronger mediating effects for CHSDA than non-CHSDA residents. CONCLUSIONS: Neighborhood-level social determinants of health may contribute to the disproportionate COVID-19 infection burden on AI/ANs; differences are exacerbated among AI/ANs living near reservations.

Drug benefit changes under Medicare Advantage Part D: heterogeneous effects on pharmaceutical use and expenditures.

BACKGROUND: Although Medicare Part D improved drug benefits for many beneficiaries, its impact on the coverage of Medicare Advantage Part D (MAPD) enrollees depended on their pre-existing benefits and whether they had gap coverage under Part D. OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in prescription drug utilization and expenditures associated with drug benefit changes resulting from the implementation of Part D. PATIENTS: We studied 248,773 continuously enrolled MAPD patients in eight states. Patients whose insurance product or Census block could not be identified or who had atypical benefits, low-income subsidies or Medicaid coverage were excluded. MAIN MEASURES: The main outcomes were changes in prescription drug days supply and expenditures from 2005 to 2006 and 2005 to 2007. DESIGN: We linked Census data with 2005-7 MAPD claims, encounter, enrollment, and benefits data and estimated associations of the outcomes with changes in drug benefits, controlling for 2005 comorbidities, demographics, and Census population characteristics. KEY RESULTS: MAPD enrollees whose drug benefits became potentially less generous after Part D had the smallest increases in drug utilization and expenditures (e.g., drug expenditures increased by $130 between 2005 and 2006), while those who potentially gained the most from Part D experienced the largest increases ($302). The differences in benefit design changes had a stronger association with drug utilization and outcomes among patients at high risk of gap entry than among the entire sample. CONCLUSIONS: Although Medicare Part D unambiguously improved drug coverage for many elderly, it led to heterogeneous changes in drug benefits among MAPD enrollees, who already had generic and sometimes branded drug benefits. After 2006, benefits were worse for individuals who had branded drug coverage in 2005 but now had a coverage gap, but benefits may have improved for individuals who acquired branded drug coverage. Commensurate with these differential changes in benefits following Part D, changes in drug utilization and expenditures varied substantially as well.

BMI and Risk for Severe COVID-19 Among Veterans Health Administration Patients.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess associations between BMI and severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes: hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and mortality. A secondary aim was to investigate whether associations varied by age. METHODS: The cohort comprised patients in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) who tested positive for COVID-19 (N = 9,347). For each outcome, we fit piecewise logistic regression models with restricted cubic splines (knots at BMI of 23, 30, and 39), adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, VHA nursing home residence, and race/ethnicity. Supplemental analyses included age-by-BMI interaction terms (α = 0.05). RESULTS: We found evidence of a nonlinear J-curve association between BMI and likelihood of hospitalization and mortality. BMI was associated with increased odds for hospitalization, ICU admission, and mortality among patients with BMI 30 to 39 but decreased odds of hospitalization and mortality for patients with BMI 23 to 30. Patients under age 75 with BMI between 30 and 39 had increased odds for mortality with increasing BMI. CONCLUSIONS: Odds for severe outcomes with COVID-19 infection increased with increasing BMI for people with, but not without, obesity. This nonlinear relationship should be tested in future research. COVID-19 public health messages in VHA, and broadly, should incorporate information about risks associated with all classes of obesity, particularly for those under age 75.

Relationship of neighborhood social determinants of health on racial/ethnic mortality disparities in US veterans-Mediation and moderating effects.

OBJECTIVE: To examine mediation and moderation of racial/ethnic all-cause mortality disparities among Veteran Health Administration (VHA)-users by neighborhood deprivation and residential segregation. DATA SOURCES: Electronic medical records for 10/2008-9/2009 VHA-users linked to National Death Index, 2000 Area Deprivation Index, and 2006-2009 US Census. STUDY DESIGN: Racial/ethnic groups included American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN), Asian, non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and non-Hispanic white (reference). We measured neighborhood deprivation by Area Deprivation Index, calculated segregation for non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, and AI/AN using the Isolation Index, evaluated mediation using inverse odds-weighted Cox regression models and moderation using Cox regression models testing for neighborhood*race/ethnicity interactions. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Mortality disparities existed for AI/ANs (HR = 1.07, 95%CI:1.01-1.10) but no other groups after covariate adjustment. Neighborhood deprivation and Hispanic segregation neither mediated nor moderated AI/AN disparities. Non-Hispanic black segregation both mediated and moderated AI/AN disparities. The AI/AN vs. non-Hispanic white disparity was attenuated for AI/ANs living in neighborhoods with greater non-Hispanic black segregation (P = .047). Black segregation's mediating effect was limited to VHA-users living in counties with low black segregation. AI/AN segregation also mediated AI/AN mortality disparities in counties that included or were near AI/AN reservations. CONCLUSIONS: Neighborhood characteristics, particularly black and AI/AN residential segregation, may contribute to AI/AN mortality disparities among VHA-users, particularly in communities that were rural, had greater black segregation, or were located on or near AI/AN reservations. This suggests the importance of neighborhood social determinants of health on racial/ethnic mortality disparities. Living near reservations may allow AI/AN VHA-users to maintain cultural and tribal ties, while also providing them with access to economic and other resources. Future research should explore the experiences of AI/ANs living in black communities and underlying mechanisms to identify targets for intervention.

Explaining racial-ethnic differences in hypertension and diabetes control among veterans before and after patient-centered medical home implementation.

Patient-centered medical homes (PCMH) are primary care delivery models that improve care access and population-level health outcomes, yet they have not been observed to narrow racial-ethnic disparities in the Veteran Health Administration (VHA) or other health systems. We aimed to identify and compare underlying drivers of persistent hypertension and diabetes control differences between non-Hispanic Black (Black) and Hispanic versus non-Hispanic White (White) patients before and after PCMH implementation in the VHA. Among Black and Hispanic versus White VHA primary care patients in 2009 (nhypertension = 26,906; ndiabetes = 21,141) and 2014 (nhypertension = 83,809; ndiabetes = 38,887), we retrospectively examined hypertension control (blood pressure<140/90) and diabetes control (hemoglobin A1c <9) obtained through random chart abstraction of patient health records nationally via VHA's quality monitoring program. We fit linear probability regression models, adjusting for age, gender, comorbidity, and socioeconomic status (SES). Blinder-Oaxaca and Smith-Welch decomposition methods were used to parse out explained and unexplained contributors to health disparity between racial-ethnic groups pre- and post-PCMH implementation. Compared to White patients, hypertension and diabetes control remained significantly lower for Black (-6.2%[0.4%] and -3.1%[0.6%], respectively; p's<0.001) and Hispanic (-1.4%[0.8%] and -4.0%[1.0%], respectively; p's<0.001) patients following VHA PCMH implementation. Most racial-ethnic differences (55.7-92.3%; all p<0.05) were not attributed to age, gender, comorbidity, and SES. The contribution of explained versus unexplained factors did not significantly change over time. While many explanations for persistent racial-ethnic disparities in disease control among veterans exist, our study did not find that it was due to an influx of "sick" or "socioeconomically vulnerable" patients into the VHA following PCMH implementation. Instead, unexplained differences may be due to differential healthcare and community experiences (e.g., discrimination). Understanding underlying pathways leading to health disparities will better inform policy and clinical interventions to improve PCMH care delivery to racial-ethnic minority patients in health systems.

Obesity and Health Care Experiences among Women and Men Veterans.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is highly stigmatized, especially for women, and therefore may negatively affect health care experiences. Past findings on the relationship between obesity and health care experiences are mixed, perhaps because few studies examine relationships by gender and obesity class. Our objective was to evaluate whether women and men with more severe obesity report worse health care experiences related to Veterans Health Administration (VA) care. METHODS: Health care experiences (self-management support, mental health assessments, office staff courtesy, communication with providers) and overall provider ratings were assessed with the 2014 VA Survey of Health Care Experiences of Patients. Using multiple regression analyses (n = 13,462 women, n = 268,180 men), we assessed associations among obesity classes, health care experiences, and overall provider ratings, adjusting for sociodemographic, health, and primary care use characteristics. RESULTS: The greatest differences in health care experiences between patients with and without obesity were in self-management support experiences, which were more favorable among women and men of all obesity classes. There were gender differences in associations between obesity and mental health assessments: for men, but not women, those in any obesity class gave higher ratings than those without obesity. For most other health care experiences and provider ratings, men with obesity reported slightly less favorable experiences than those without. There was no consistent pattern for women. CONCLUSIONS: It is promising that VA patients with obesity report more self-management support, given the behavior change required for weight management. Lower health care experience and provider ratings among men with obesity suggest a need to further investigate possible obesity-related stigma in VA primary care.