918Building the evidence base for australia’s veteran population

Abstract

Abstract Background There is a wealth of existing research on Australia’s veteran population. However, much of the existing research seeks to answer questions on specific issues, veterans of specific conflicts, or of veterans who use the Department of Veterans’ Affairs services, with little to no information beyond these specific populations. Methods Several large administrative datasets including the Pharmaceutical Benefits Schedule (PBS), Causes of Death and Specialist Homelessness Services were linked with Defence information to enable analysis of veterans’ information against a range of topics, such as cause of death, health service and homelessness service use. Comparisons were made between the Australian Population as a whole and the veteran population. Results Results show some similarities and some differences between the veteran population and the whole Australian population. Results are disaggregated between those who are currently serving, in the reserves and ex-serving as well as by service type and other variables. Conclusions These results have helped to improve what is known about the broader veteran community. They provide important context for policy makers to understand how best to service the veteran community that was previously unknown, and help identify areas for more detailed research and exploration. Key messages Data linkage provides an important opportunity to understand the specific health and welfare needs of veterans who are otherwise difficult to identify in large administrative datasets. Comparison of veterans’ health and welfare service use with the broader Australian population provides important information for policy makers.