Abstract
333 - Specialty Healthcare Use Among Rural and Urban Veterans with Fibromyalgia
The journal of pain, Vol.29(Supplement), 105131
04/2025
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2025.105131
Abstract
Rural Veterans with chronic pain can experience barriers to accessing specialty pain care. The risk for suboptimal pain care may be magnified for Veterans with complex presentations. Veterans with Fibromyalgia typically present with multiple pain sites and commonly experience related symptoms such as fatigue, concentration difficulties, low mood, and disrupted sleep. To investigate the impact of rurality on pain care among patients with Fibromyalgia, a cohort of all Veterans seen for Fibromyalgia in the Veterans Health Administration in 2022 was created using national administrative data. Counts of primary and specialty care visits in the following year were calculated. Negative binomial regression was used to estimate differences in specialty care for rural and urban Veterans, adjusted for demographics and psychiatric and medical comorbidity. The cohort included 30,462 Veterans with Fibromyalgia, which included one-third rural Veterans (n=10,062). While overall visits for fibromyalgia were not different, rural Veterans had more primary care visits (Mean=1.5 rural versus 1.3 urban, p<.01) but fewer specialty care visits (Mean=1.1 and 1.4, p <.01): aIRR=0.88, 95% CI: 0.83-0.92. Also, Veterans who utilized a rural VA clinic for their primary care received significantly fewer specialty care visits, relative to those who received primary care from a medical center, independent of rural or urban residence status: aIRR=0.72, 95% CI: 0.66-0.78. Rural Veterans with Fibromyalgia used significantly less specialty care independent of care site, with Veterans receiving care at rural clinics having the lowest use rate. These Veterans may benefit from increased access to specialty pain care.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- 333 - Specialty Healthcare Use Among Rural and Urban Veterans with Fibromyalgia
- Creators
- Katherine HadlandsmythJenna AdamowiczMary DriscollLauren GarvinMadison StoutBrian Lund
- Resource Type
- Abstract
- Publication Details
- The journal of pain, Vol.29(Supplement), 105131
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jpain.2025.105131
- ISSN
- 1526-5900
- eISSN
- 1528-8447
- Publisher
- Elsevier Inc
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 04/2025
- Academic Unit
- Psychiatry; Epidemiology; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Anesthesia
- Record Identifier
- 9984820568102771
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