Sex differences in unmet needs between male and female older Veterans

Aging Veterans face complex needs across multiple domains. However, the needs of older female Veterans and the degree to which unmet needs differ by sex are unknown. We analyzed responses to the HERO CARE survey from 7,955 Veterans aged 55 years and older (weighted N = 490,148), 93.9% males and 6.1% females. We evaluated needs and unmet needs across the following domains: activities of daily living (ADLs), instrumental ADLs (IADLs), health management, and social. We calculated weighted estimates and compared sex differences using age-adjusted prevalence ratios. On average, female Veterans were younger, more were Non-Hispanic Black and unmarried. Females and males reported a similar prevalence of problems across all domains. However, compared to males, female Veterans had a lesser prevalence of missed appointments due to transportation (aPR 0.49; 95% CI: 0.26–0.92), housework unmet needs (aPR: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.20–0.97), and medication management unmet needs (aPR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.11–0.95) but a higher prevalence of healthcare communication unmet needs (aPR: 2.40; 95% CI: 1.13–5.05) and monitoring health conditions unmet needs (aPR: 2.13, 95% CI: 1.08–4.20). Female Veterans’ common experience of unmet needs in communicating with their healthcare teams could result in care that is less aligned with their preferences or needs. As the number of older female Veterans grows, these data and additional work to understand sex-specific unmet needs and ways to address them are essential to providing high-quality care for female Veterans.