2010 National Survey of Veterans:

Understanding and Knowledge of VA

Benefits and Services
Prepared by the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics

November 2011
NCVAS National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics
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Data Source
Data for this presentation come from the National Survey of Veterans ,
Active Duty Service Members, Demobilize National Guard and Reserve
Members, Family Members, and Surviving Spouses (NSV) Final Weighted
Report , issued on October 2010. Specifically, the data is from the
Awareness and Outreach section, pages 78 to 92.

The 2010 NSV is the sixth in a series of national surveys designed by
the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to help plan for future
programs and services for Veterans.

The 2010 NSV assessed the awareness of VA benefits and services
among Veterans and other stakeholder groups to satisfy Public Law
108-454 Section 805.



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Women Veterans reported a slightly greater understanding of
VA services and programs.
3
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Survey of Veterans Final Report (p.78 and p.83), October 2010
http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SurveysAndStudies/NVSSurveyFinalWeightedReport.pdf
20.0%
29.0%
34.1%
37.7%
35.4%
41.0%
23.3%
30.8%
36.1%
37.2%
38.7%
41.5%
Life insurance
Burial
Health Care
Education and Training
Home Loan Guaranty
Veterans Benefits
Women Veterans
All Veterans
Enrolled Veterans reported greater understanding of their entitled
VA health care benefits.
4
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Survey of Veterans Final Report (p.80), October 2010.
http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SurveysAndStudies/NVSSurveyFinalWeightedReport.pdf
*Percents are based on those answering A lot or Some to item B1b and may not add to 100 percent.
15.0%
21.0%
25.6%
32.9%
19.5%
18.8%
22.2%
19.1%
21.4%
60.7%
70.5%
72.8%
73.9%
74.4%
75.8%
76.0%
77.2%
79.9%
Young Veterans (age 18-30)
Black/African American
World War II
September 2001 or Later
All Veterans
Women
Vietnam Era
Hispanic
Korean War
Percent of Selected Groups Who Understand Their Benefits, by Enrollment Status
Enrollees Non-Enrollees
Young Veterans reported greater knowledge of
their VA health care coverage.
5
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Survey of Veterans Final Report (p.85), October 2010.
http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SurveysAndStudies/NVSSurveyFinalWeightedReport.pdf
41.2%
22.5%
18.4% 18.4%
15.7%
Young Veterans
(age 18-30)
Black/African
American
Veterans
All Veterans Hispanic
Veterans
Women Veterans
Percent of Selected Groups With Knowledge of Their
VA Health Care Coverage
Veterans from earlier periods of service reported greater knowledge of
VA health care coverage.
6
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Survey of Veterans Final Report (p.84), October 2010.
http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SurveysAndStudies/NVSSurveyFinalWeightedReport.pdf
16.0%
19.0%
19.2%
21.8%
23.0%
23.8%
25.0%
May 1975 to July 1990
Aug. 1990 to Aug. 2001
Vietnam Era
September 2001 or Later
Jan. 1947 to June 1950
Korean War
World War II
Women Veterans reported greater knowledge of
VA home loan guaranty program.
7
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Survey of Veterans Final Report (p.85), October 2010.
http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SurveysAndStudies/NVSSurveyFinalWeightedReport.pdf
74.1%
71.8%
71.6%
68.2%
67.8%
Women Veterans Hispanic Veterans Black/African
American Veterans
All Veterans Young Veterans
(age 18-30)
Percent of Selected Groups With Knowledge of Their
VA Home Loan Guaranty Program
Veterans from recent periods of service reported greater knowledge of
VA home loan guaranty program.
8
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Survey of Veterans Final Report (p.85), October 2010.
http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SurveysAndStudies/NVSSurveyFinalWeightedReport.pdf
53.5%
61.7%
61.9%
61.9%
71.0%
78.7%
79.0%
79.7%
World War II
Korean War
Jan. 1947 to June 1950
Nov. 1941 or Earlier
Vietnam Era
September 2001 or Later
May 1975 to July 1990
Aug. 1990 to Aug. 2001
A higher percentage of young Veterans reported hearing about VA burial
benefits compared with other Veterans.
9
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Survey of Veterans Final Report (p.87), October 2010.
http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SurveysAndStudies/NVSSurveyFinalWeightedReport.pdf
55.6%
48.1%
43.0%
41.5% 41.5%
Young Veterans
(age 18-30)
Women Veterans Black/African
American Veterans
All Veterans Hispanic Veterans
Percent of Selected Groups Hearing About VA Burial Benefits
A higher percentage of young Veterans reported searching for information on
VA health care eligibility in the last 12 months compared with other Veterans.
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19.8%
22.2%
24.7%
33.6%
34.6%
38.4%
All Veterans
Women Veterans
Hispanic Veterans
Black/African American
Veterans
September 2001 or Later
Veterans
Young Veterans (age 18-30)
Percent of Selected Groups Searching for Information on VA Health Care Eligibility
in the Last 12 Months


Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Survey of Veterans Final Report (p.91), October 2010.
http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SurveysAndStudies/NVSSurveyFinalWeightedReport.pdf
A higher percentage of young Veterans reported searching for VA education and
training benefits in the last 12 months compared with other Veterans.
11 Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Survey of Veterans Final Report (p.92), October 2010.
http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SurveysAndStudies/NVSSurveyFinalWeightedReport.pdf


66.0%
51.6%
24.6%
24.0%
19.6%
10.2%
Young Veterans
(age 18-30)
September 2001
or Later Veterans
Women Veterans Black/African
American
Veterans
Hispanic Veterans All Veterans
Percent of Selected Groups Searching for VA Education and Training
Benefits in the Last 12 Months
Of those Veterans who sought information on VA benefits and services, the
majority reported searching for information about
VA health care eligibility, health care facility locations, and VA
prescription benefits in the last 12 months.
12
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs, National Survey of Veterans Final Report (p.89), October 2010.
http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/SurveysAndStudies/NVSSurveyFinalWeightedReport.pdf
2.3%
3.3%
4.5%
5.3%
6.2%
9.1%
10.2%
12.0%
14.9%
17.7%
19.8%
VA transition assistance
VA vocational rehabilitation
VA life insurance
VA benefits for dependents and survivors
VA burial benefits
VA home loans
VA education and training
VA disability compensation & pension
VA prescription benefits
VA health care facility locations
Eligibility for VA health care
Summary
Women Veterans reported a slightly greater understanding of VA services and programs.
Enrolled Veterans reported a greater understanding of their entitled VA health care
benefits. For example, among WWII Veterans, almost 73 percent of enrollees reported
that they understood their health care benefits A lot or Some, compared with only
25.6 percent of non-enrollees.
Young Veterans and Veterans from earlier periods of service reported greater knowledge
of VA health care coverage.
Women Veterans and Veterans from recent periods of service have a greater knowledge
of the VA Home Loan Guaranty program.
A higher percentage of young Veterans (age 18-30) reported hearing more about the VA
burial benefits, searching more for information on VA health care eligibility, and
searching more for information on VA Education and Training compared with other
Veterans.
Of those Veterans who sought information on VA benefits and services in the last 12
months, almost 20 percent reported searching for information about VA health care
eligibility. A total of 17.7 percent reported searching for VA health care facility locations,
and 14.9 percent sought information about VA prescription benefits.




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Contact Information For This Report
Maribel Aponte
Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of Policy and Planning
National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics

maribel.aponte@va.gov
(202)266-4688

For general inquiries, please email us at VANCVAS@va.gov.
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