The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has launched a national survey to learn if members of the military community are aware of the services the VA offers.
The VA is currently mailing out survey “screeners” to more than 130,000 households to identify potential survey participants.
Those who are eligible to participate in the survey include veterans, active duty service members, activated National Guard and reserve members, and family members and survivors.
In addition to assessing awareness levels, the National Survey of Veterans will collect important health care, benefits, employment, and demographic information that VA will use to inform policy decisions and improve benefits.
Recognizing a broader client base than just veterans, this is the first time VA has included others, such as veteran family members, in its survey population.
Participants will be able to select a preferred survey method— through U.S. mail, telephone or a password-protected Internet address. VA expects approximately 10,000 Veterans to complete the full-length survey.
This is the sixth VA National Survey of Veterans since 1978. The information collected will help VA in its efforts to design and conduct outreach to Veterans.
In addition, it will provide a clearer picture of the Veteran population’s characteristics to help evaluate existing programs and policies and measure their impact.
The data collection is expected to be finished by the end of February and the final report released by December 2010.
