Table 1 Descriptive characteristics of 359 veterans of operation enduring freedom (OEF) or operation Iraqi freedom (OIF) +

Predisposing characteristics

Mean age (range 20–66) §§§

35.1 years

32.9 years

36.6 years

Gender (% men)

91.1%

92.9%

89.9%

Marital status

Never married

24.2%

26.2%

22.9%

Married

52.4%

48.9%

54.6%

Living as married

6.7%

6.4%

6.9%

Divorced/separated

16.4%

18.4%

15.7%

Mean years of education §§§

14.5 years

13.8 years

14.9 years

Race/ethnicity§

White non-hispanic

77.4%

85.1%

72.4%

Hispanic

10.6%

5.0%

12.3%

Black non-hispanic

9.5%

9.2%

11.5%

Other groups

2.5%

0.7%

3.7%

Employment§§§

Employed

61.8%

58.2%

64.2%

Student

15.9%

15.6%

16.1%

Unemployed looking for work

11.1%

9.9%

11.9%

Other non-working

10.5%

15.9%

6.9%

Duty status at baseline §§§

Active duty

11.7%

20.6%

6.0%

Inactive reserve

10.6%

13.5%

8.7%

Active reserve

20.9%

23.4%

19.3%

Temporary duty release

1.7%

2.8%

0.9%

Completed service

55.2%

39.7%

65.1%

Service branch (any service in each branch) §

Any Army

49.1%

50.3%

48.2%

Any Navy

8.1%

5.7%

9.6%

Any Air Force

8.7%

4.2%

11.5%

Any Marine

11.2%

14.9%

8.8%

Any National Guard

24.3%

26.9%

22.5%

Enabling characteristics

Service connected (self report)

65.2%

73.8%

59.6%

Exposures

OEF/OIF deployment months (range 0–65 months) §

14.6 months

15.9 months

13.8 months

Months since return (range 0–135 months) §§§

42.4 months

34.1 months

47.8 months

Gulf War tours

12.0%

9.3%

13.8%

Exposed to blast §§§

80.2%

94.3%

71.1%

Need characteristics

Ever had a mental health problem (self report) §§§

67.2%

87.9%

53.7%

CESD† scale mean

18.6

23.2

15.5

Dyadic adjustment scale score (mean)

22.4

21.4

23.1

PTSD diagnosis (y/n) §§§

26.5%

44.7%

14.7%

Major depressive disorder diagnosis §§§

29.5%

42.6%

21.1%

VA health system geographic location §

Southeast

40.9%

28.4%

49%

North

59.1%

71.6%

51%

Barriers to VA care

Any perceived barrier

62.4%

63.8%

61.5%

Wait times

26.7%

23.4%

28.9%

Staff concerns/reputation

15.0%

16.3%

14.2%

Fear/embarrassment/stigma

13.9%

17.0%

11.9%

Distance/location

12.0%

12.8%

11.5%

Paperwork/hassle

10.3%

9.9%

10.6%

Lack of services information

9.5%

10.6%

8.7%

Limited services hours

3.3%

5.0%

2.3%

Other insurance/money/ private MD

3.3%

1.4%

4.6%

Fear military records access

1.7%

2.8%

0.9%

Active duty

1.4%

2.8%

0.5%

Total barriers (0–3) mean ± standard deviation (SD) Among all veterans, 0 barriers = 37.6%; 1 = 28.1%; 2 = 18.3%; 3 = 15.8%

1.1 (± 1.1)

1.2 (± 1.1)

1.1 (± 1.1)

Utilization

VA current treatment §§§

53.0%

65.9%

40.3%

VA pain treatment last 3 months §§§

37.8%

52.5%

28.2%

VA mental health treatment last 3 months §§

51.6%

61.4%

41.7%

All VA services in last 3 months §§§

53.2%

67.6%

44.0%

Community pain treatment received last 3 months

23.6%

24.6%

23.0%

Community mental health treatment 3 months

15.3%

16.9%

13.6%

In- patient §§§

15.1%

28.4%

6.5%

VA treatment received last 3 months §§§

61.8%

47.5%

71.1%

Community treatment received last 3 months §§§

40.9%

26.2%

50.5%