U.S. Veteran Population Projections, 2015 through 2040: Implications for Health Planning and Monitoring Population Health Outcomes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17140/PHOJ-4-131Keywords:
Ecological design; Secondary data; Cohort-component method; Population pyramid; Standardization of population health information; Health planning; Managerial epidemiology.Abstract
IntroductionA population’s structure and how it may change over time could affect the interpretation and use of health service utilization rates. This informative report describes how data for Veteran population composition age group and sex could have important implications for the comparison of rates as health planners consider the long-term resources necessary to support rehabilitation, health and wellness, and Veteran reintegration.MethodsU.S. Veteran population projections were examined. Secondary data were used to examine the population structure of Veteran and U.S. adult populations from 2015 to 2040. Population pyramids were constructed.ResultsThe projected Veteran population for 2040 is lower than that in 2015. During the same period, the U.S. adult population is projected to increase. Close inspection of the population pyramids for 2015 to 2040 showed that between these years, not only would the proportion of female Veterans increase over time but, also, there will be more Veterans in the older age groups. ConclusionsAs Veterans Health Administration (VHA) modernizes health system operations, health outcomes and health service utilization rates over time will be an important component for monitoring progress and refining health planning activities. The report, also, proposes a “standard reference population” for the comparison Veteran population rates from 2018 to 2030.
References
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. FY 2018-2024 strategic plan. https://www.va.gov/oei/docs/va2018-2024strategicplan. pdf. Published February 12, 2018. Accessed May 20, 2019.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration. Restoring trust in Veterans health care-Annual report 2016. https://www.va.gov/HEALTH/docs/VHA_AR16. pdf. Accessed May 20, 2019.
Fos PJ, Fine DJ, Zuniga MA. Managerial Epidemiology for Health Care Organizations. 3rd ed. San Francisco, CA, USA: Jossey-Bass; 2018.
Guest C, Ricciardi W, Kawachi I, Lang I. Oxford Handbook of Public Health Practice. 3rd ed. Oxford, England, UK: Oxford University Press; 2013.
Bonita R, Beaglehole R, Kjellstrom T. Basic Epidemiology. 2nd ed. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2006.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics.Table: Table 6L_VetPop2016_ National. Web site. https://www.va.gov/vetdata/. 2018. Updated May 7, 2019. Accessed May 20, 2019.
U.S. Bureau of the Census, Population Projections. Table: Brief Report | Volume 4 | Issue 1| Population projections for the United States from 2015 to 2060 (in millions). Web site. https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2014/ demo/popproj/2014-summary-tables.html. 2018. Revised May 9, 2017. Accessed May 20, 2019.
Ahn PJ. Veteran population project model 2016-executive summary and overview. Washington, DC: 2017.
Hollmann FW, Mulder TJ, Kallan JE. Methodology and assumptions for population projections of the United States: 1999 to 2100. Population Division Paper Working Papers. 2000-01. https:// www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2000/demo/POP-twps0038.html. Accessed May 20, 2019.
Oleske DM. Epidemiology and the Delivery of Health Care Services. 2nd ed. New York, USA: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 2001.
Oleske DM. Epidemiology and the Delivery of Health Care Services. 3rd ed. New York, USA: Springer; 2010.
Rowe J, Berkman L, Fried L, et al. Preparing for better health and health care for an aging population. Discussion Paper. https:// Submit your article to this journal | https://openventio.org/submit-manuscript/ Brief Report | Volume 4 | Issue 1| Fant G nam.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Preparing-for-Better-Health-and-Health-Care-for-an-Aging-Population.pdf. Published September 19, 2016.
Bhopal RS. Concepts of Epidemiology. 3rd ed. Oxford, England, UK: Oxford University Press; 2016.
Wiener JM, Tilly J. Population ageing in the United States of America: Implications for public programmes. Int J Epidemiol. 2002; 31(4): 776-781. doi: 10.1093/ije/31.4.776
Wolinsky FD. Age, Period, and Cohort Analyses of Health-Related Behavior In: Dean K, ed. Population Health Research. London, UK: SAGE Publications; 1993.
Ahmad O, Boschi-Pinto C, Lopez AD, et al. Age standardization of rates: A new WHO standard. 2001.
McGrail K, Jones K, Akbari A, et al. A position statement on population data science: The science of data about people. International Journal of Population Data Science. 2018; 3: 4. doi: 10.23889/ijpds.v3i1.415
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All content published in Public Health - Open Journal (PHOJ) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license allows anyone to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the work — including for commercial purposes — provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and source.