TY - JOUR
T1 - The Digital Divide and Veterans’ Health
T2 - Differences in Self-Reported Health by Internet Usage
AU - Swed, Ori
AU - Sheehan, Connor Mc Devitt
AU - Butler, John Sibley
N1 - Funding Information:
Dr. Connor McDevitt Sheehan is now affiliated with Arizona State University. The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2018.
PY - 2020/4/1
Y1 - 2020/4/1
N2 - The digital divide's implications on health inequality among American Military veterans has been discussed extensively in research; however, it remains unclear what is the association between Internet usage and health specifically among Veterans. We examine this question by addressing the growing digital gaps in the veteran population, looking at the association of Internet use and self-reported health. Using the National Survey of Veterans we find that compared to those who use the Internet daily, those who use the Internet less frequently have significantly higher odds of reporting “fair” or “poor” self-rated health. The significant association remained when demographic, socioeconomic, and military factors were controlled. While our results indicate that veterans that use the Internet more frequently report more favorable self-reported health, given our data we are unable to distinguish a causal relationship. We conclude by discussing potential policy interventions, targeting helping those who are left behind.
AB - The digital divide's implications on health inequality among American Military veterans has been discussed extensively in research; however, it remains unclear what is the association between Internet usage and health specifically among Veterans. We examine this question by addressing the growing digital gaps in the veteran population, looking at the association of Internet use and self-reported health. Using the National Survey of Veterans we find that compared to those who use the Internet daily, those who use the Internet less frequently have significantly higher odds of reporting “fair” or “poor” self-rated health. The significant association remained when demographic, socioeconomic, and military factors were controlled. While our results indicate that veterans that use the Internet more frequently report more favorable self-reported health, given our data we are unable to distinguish a causal relationship. We conclude by discussing potential policy interventions, targeting helping those who are left behind.
KW - digital divide
KW - health inequality
KW - veterans
KW - veterans’ health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85059076221&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0095327X18809069
DO - 10.1177/0095327X18809069
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85059076221
VL - 46
SP - 238
EP - 258
JO - Armed Forces and Society
JF - Armed Forces and Society
SN - 0095-327X
IS - 2
ER -