Shallow Subsidies for Veterans Facing Housing Barriers in the VA Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program.

The Department of Veterans Affairs provides a shallow subsidy (i.e., subsidizing 50% of an individual's rent for two years) to Veterans experiencing housing instability. We sought to describe the characteristics of Veterans who received these subsidies. Methods. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of Veterans between 10/2019-9/2021. We identified Veteran-level characteristics associated with receiving a shallow subsidy using a multivariable two-part regression model. We also conducted qualitative interviews to identify how shallow subsidies are allocated. Results Black race, higher income, more education, and older age were positively associated with receiving a shallow subsidy; previous homelessness, prior VA outpatient cost, and participating in permanent supportive housing were negatively associated with receiving a shallow subsidy. Interviews revealed that income was the most influential determinant of whether to give shallow subsidies. Discussion Our mixed methods findings were consistent, indicating that socioeconomic stability is an important driver of shallow subsidy allocation decisions.

Temporary Financial Assistance Reduced The Probability Of Unstable Housing Among Veterans For More Than 1 Year.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) aims to reduce homelessness among veterans through programs such as Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF). An important component of SSVF is temporary financial assistance. Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of temporary financial assistance in reducing short-term housing instability, but studies have not examined its long-term effect on housing outcomes. Using data from the VA's electronic health record system, we analyzed the effect of temporary financial assistance on veterans' housing instability for three years after entry into SSVF. We extracted housing outcomes from clinical notes, using natural language processing, and compared the probability of unstable housing among veterans who did and did not receive temporary financial assistance. We found that temporary financial assistance rapidly reduced the probability of unstable housing, but the effect attenuated after forty-five days. Our findings suggest that to maintain long-term housing stability for veterans who have exited SSVF, additional interventions may be needed.

Temporary Financial Assistance for Housing Expenditures and Mortality and Suicide Outcomes Among US Veterans.

INTRODUCTION: It is unclear whether interventions designed to increase housing stability can also lead to improved health outcomes such as reduced risk of death and suicide morbidity. The objective of this study was to estimate the potential impact of temporary financial assistance (TFA) for housing-related expenses from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on health outcomes including all-cause mortality, suicide attempt, and suicidal ideation. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective national cohort study of Veterans who entered the VA Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program between 10/2015 and 9/2018. We assessed the association between TFA and health outcomes using a multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression approach with inverse probability of treatment weighting. We conducted these analyses on our overall cohort as well as separately for those in the rapid re-housing (RRH) and homelessness prevention (HP) components of SSVF. Outcomes were all-cause mortality, suicide attempt, and suicidal ideation at 365 and 730 days following enrollment in SSVF. RESULTS: Our analysis cohort consisted of 41,969 unique Veterans with a mean (SD) duration of 87.6 (57.4) days in the SSVF program. At 365 days following SSVF enrollment, TFA was associated with a decrease in the risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 0.696, p < 0.001) and suicidal ideation (HR: 0.788, p < 0.001). We found similar results at 730 days (HR: 0.811, p = 0.007 for all-cause mortality and HR: 0.881, p = 0.037 for suicidal ideation). These results were driven primarily by individuals enrolled in the RRH component of SSVF. We found no association between TFA and suicide attempts. CONCLUSION: We find that providing housing-related financial assistance to individuals facing housing instability is associated with improvements in important health outcomes such as all-cause mortality and suicidal ideation. If causal, these results suggest that programs to provide housing assistance have positive spillover effects into other important aspects of individuals' lives.

Choosing Veterans Affairs: Determinants of post-9/11 Veterans' enrollment in Veterans Affairs health care.

Following recent policy changes, younger Veterans have particularly increased options for where to receive their health care. Although existing research provides some understanding of non-modifiable individual (e.g., age) and external community (e.g., non-VA provider supply) factors that influence VA enrollment, this study focused on modifiable facility access and quality factors that could influence Veterans' decisions to enroll in VA. In this cohort study, we examined enrollment in and use of VA services in the year following military separation as the binary outcome using mixed-effects logistic regressions, stratified by Active and Reserve Components. This study included 260,777 Active and 101,572 Reserve Component post-9/11 Veterans separated from the military in fiscal years 2016 to 2017. Independent variables included 4 access measures for timeliness of VA care and 3 VA quality measures, which are included in VA Medical Centers' performance plans. Eligible Veterans were more likely to enroll in VA when the closest VA had higher quality scores. After accounting for timeliness of VA care and non-modifiable characteristics, rating of primary care (PC) providers was associated with higher VA enrollment for Active Component (odds ratio [OR] = 1.014, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.007-1.020). Higher mental health (MH) continuity (OR = 1.039, 95% CI: 1.000-1.078) and rating of PC providers (OR = 1.009, 95% CI: 1.000-1.017) were associated with higher VA enrollment for Reserve Component. Improving facility-specific quality of care may be a way to increase VA enrollment. In a changing policy environment, study results will help VA leadership target changes they can make to manage enrollment of Veterans in VA and deliver needed foundational services.

Long-Term Health Care Costs for Service Members Injured in Iraq and Afghanistan.

INTRODUCTION: Over the last two decades, the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost the United States significantly in terms of lives lost, disabling injuries, and budgetary expenditures. This manuscript calculates the differences in costs between veterans with combat injuries vs veterans without combat injuries. This work could be used to project future costs in subsequent studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we randomly selected 7,984 combat-injured veterans between February 1, 2002, and June 14, 2016, from Veterans Affairs Health System administrative data. We matched injured veterans 1:1 to noninjured veterans on year of birth (± 1 year), sex, and first service branch. We observed patients for a maximum of 10 years. This research protocol was reviewed and approved by the David Grant USAF Medical Center institutional review board (IRB), the University of Utah IRB, and the Research Review Committee of the VA Salt Lake City Health Care System in accordance with all applicable Federal regulations. RESULTS: Patients were primarily male (98.1% in both groups) and White (76.4% for injured patients, 72.3% for noninjured patients), with a mean (SD) age of 26.8 (6.6) years for the injured group and 27.7 (7.0) years for noninjured subjects. Average total costs for combat-injured service members were higher for each year studied. The difference was highest in the first year ($16,050 compared to $4,135 for noninjured). These differences remained significant after adjustment. Although this difference was greatest in the first year (marginal effect $12,386, 95% confidence interval $9,736-$15,036; P < 0.001), total costs continued to be elevated in years 2-10, with marginal effects ranging from $1,766 to $2,597 (P < 0.001 for all years). More severe injuries tended to increase costs in all categories. CONCLUSIONS: Combat injured patients have significantly higher long-term health care costs compared to their noninjured counterparts. If this random sample is extrapolated to the 53,251 total of combat wounded service members, it implies a total excess cost of $1.6 billion to date after adjustment for covariates and a median follow-up time of 10 years. These costs are likely to increase as injured veterans age and develop additional chronic conditions.

Predictors of homeless service utilization and stable housing status among Veterans receiving services from a nationwide homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing program.

Homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing (RRH) programs are increasingly important components of the homeless assistance system in the United States. Yet, there are key gaps in knowledge about the dynamics of the utilization of these programs, with scant attention paid to examining the duration of homelessness prevention and RRH service episodes or to patterns of repeated use of these programs over time. To address these gaps, we use data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program-the largest program in the country providing homelessness prevention and RRH services-to assess the relationship between individual and program-level factors and exits to stable housing, length of service episodes, and patterns of repeated service use over time. We analyze data for a primary cohort of 570,798 of Veterans who received SSVF services during Fiscal Years (FY) 2012-2021, and for separate cohorts of Veterans who received SSVF prevention and RRH services, respectively, during FY 2016-2021. We find that participants' income, indicators of their health status, their use of other VA homeless programs, and rurality are consistent predictors of our outcomes. These findings have implications for how to allocate homelessness prevention and RRH resources in the most efficient manner to help households maintain or obtain stable housing.

Suicide attempts and mental health diagnoses in combat-injured service members: A retrospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: Examinations of risk factors for suicide attempt in United States service members at high risk of mental health diagnoses, such as those with combat injuries, are essential to guiding prevention and intervention efforts. METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of 8727 combat-injured patients matched to deployed, non-injured patients utilizing Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs administrative records. RESULTS: Combat injury was positively associated with suicide attempt in the univariate model (HR = 1.75, 95% CI 1.5-2.1), but lost significance after adjustment for mental health diagnoses. Utilizing Latent Transition Analysis in the combat-injured group, we identified five mental/behavioral health profiles: (1) Few mental health diagnoses, (2) PTSD and depressive disorders, (3) Adjustment disorder, (4) Multiple mental health comorbidities, and (5) Multiple mental health comorbidities with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Multiple mental health comorbidities with AUD had the highest suicide attempt rate throughout the study and more than four times that of Multiple mental health comorbidities in the first study year (23.4 vs. 5.1 per 1000 person years, respectively). CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that (1) combat injury's impact on suicide attempt is attenuated by mental health and (2) AUD with multiple mental health comorbidities confers heightened suicide attempt risk in combat-injured service members.

Using natural language processing to study homelessness longitudinally with electronic health record data subject to irregular observations.

The Electronic Health Record (EHR) contains information about social determinants of health (SDoH) such as homelessness. Much of this information is contained in clinical notes and can be extracted using natural language processing (NLP). This data can provide valuable information for researchers and policymakers studying long-term housing outcomes for individuals with a history of homelessness. However, studying homelessness longitudinally in the EHR is challenging due to irregular observation times. In this work, we applied an NLP system to extract housing status for a cohort of patients in the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) over a three-year period. We then applied inverse intensity weighting to adjust for the irregularity of observations, which was used generalized estimating equations to estimate the probability of unstable housing each day after entering a VA housing assistance program. Our methods generate unique insights into the long-term outcomes of individuals with a history of homelessness and demonstrate the potential for using EHR data for research and policymaking.

The Impact of Temporary Housing Assistance Expenditures on Subcategories of Health Care Cost for U.S. Veterans Facing Housing Instability.

We sought to estimate the impact of temporary financial assistance (TFA) for housing-related expenses from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on costs for a variety of health care services. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of Veterans who entered the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program between 10/2015 and 9/2018. We assessed the effect of TFA on health care costs using a multivariable difference-in-difference approach. Outcomes were direct medical costs of health care encounters (i.e., emergency department, outpatient mental health, inpatient mental health, outpatient substance use disorder treatment, and residential behavioral health) in the VA system. Temporary financial assistance was associated with a decrease in ED (-$11, p<.003), outpatient mental health (-$28, p<.001), outpatient substance use disorder treatment (-$25, p<.001), inpatient mental health (-$258, p<.001), and residential behavioral health (-$181, p<.001) costs per quarter for Veterans in the rapid re-housing component of SSVF. These results can inform policy debates regarding proper solutions to housing instability.

Treatment access for opioid use disorder in pregnancy among rural and American Indian communities.

BACKGROUND: Opioid use disorder (OUD) in pregnancy disproportionately impacts rural and American Indian (AI) communities. With limited data available about access to care for these populations, this study's objective was to assess clinic knowledge and new patient access for OUD treatment in three rural U.S. counties. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research team used unannounced standardized patients (USPs) to request new patient appointments by phone for white and AI pregnant individuals with OUD at primary care and OB/GYN clinics that provide prenatal care in three rural Utah counties. We assessed a) clinic familiarity with buprenorphine for OUD; b) appointment availability for buprenorphine treatment; c) appointment wait times; d) referral provision when care was unavailable; and e) availability of OUD care at referral locations. We compared outcomes for AI and white USP profiles using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: The USPs made 34 calls to 17 clinics, including 4 with publicly listed buprenorphine prescribers on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website. Among clinical staff answering calls, 16 (47%) were unfamiliar with buprenorphine. OUD treatment was offered when requested in 6 calls (17.6%), with a median appointment wait time of 2.5 days (IQR 1-5). Among clinics with a listed buprenorphine prescriber, 2 of 4 (50%) offered OUD treatment. Most clinics (n = 24/28, 85.7%) not offering OUD treatment provided a referral; however, a buprenorphine provider was unavailable/unreachable 67% of the time. The study observed no differences in appointment availability between AI and white individuals. CONCLUSIONS: Rural-dwelling AI and white pregnant individuals with OUD experience significant barriers to accessing care. Improving OUD knowledge and referral practices among rural clinics may increase access to care for this high-risk population.

The impact of school opening model on SARS-CoV-2 community incidence and mortality.

The role that traditional and hybrid in-person schooling modes contribute to the community incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections relative to fully remote schooling is unknown. We conducted an event study using a retrospective nationwide cohort evaluating the effect of school mode on SARS-CoV-2 cases during the 12 weeks after school opening (July-September 2020, before the Delta variant was predominant), stratified by US Census region. After controlling for case rate trends before school start, state-level mitigation measures and community activity level, SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates were not statistically different in counties with in-person learning versus remote school modes in most regions of the United States. In the South, there was a significant and sustained increase in cases per week among counties that opened in a hybrid or traditional mode versus remote, with weekly effects ranging from 9.8 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.7-16.1) to 21.3 (95% CI = 9.9-32.7) additional cases per 100,000 persons, driven by increasing cases among 0-9 year olds and adults. Schools can reopen for in-person learning without substantially increasing community case rates of SARS-CoV-2; however, the impacts are variable. Additional studies are needed to elucidate the underlying reasons for the observed regional differences more fully.

ReHouSED: A novel measurement of Veteran housing stability using natural language processing.

Housing stability is an important determinant of health. The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers several programs to assist Veterans experiencing unstable housing. Measuring long-term housing stability of Veterans who receive assistance from VA is difficult due to a lack of standardized structured documentation in the Electronic Health Record (EHR). However, the text of clinical notes often contains detailed information about Veterans' housing situations that may be extracted using natural language processing (NLP). We present a novel NLP-based measurement of Veteran housing stability: Relative Housing Stability in Electronic Documentation (ReHouSED). We first develop and evaluate a system for classifying documents containing information about Veterans' housing situations. Next, we aggregate information from multiple documents to derive a patient-level measurement of housing stability. Finally, we demonstrate this method's ability to differentiate between Veterans who are stably and unstably housed. Thus, ReHouSED provides an important methodological framework for the study of long-term housing stability among Veterans receiving housing assistance.

The Impact of School Opening Model on SARS-CoV-2 Community Incidence and Mortality: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

The role that in-person schooling contributes to community incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections and deaths remains unknown. We conducted an event study evaluating the effect of in-person school on SARS-CoV-2 cases and deaths per 100,000 persons during the 12-weeks following school opening, stratified by US Census region. There was no impact of in-person school opening and COVID-19 deaths. In most regions, COVID-19 incidence rates were not statistically different in counties with in-person versus remote school modes. However, in the South, there was a significant and sustained increase in cases per week among counties that opened for in-person learning versus remote learning, with weekly effects ranging from 7.8 (95% CI: 1.2-14.5) to 18.9 (95% CI: 7.9-29.9) additional cases per 100,000, driven by increases among 0-9 year olds and adults.

Comparing Driving Miles for Department of Veterans Affairs-delivered Versus Department of Veterans Affairs-purchased Cataract Surgery.

BACKGROUND: The Veterans Choice Act of 2014 increased the number of Veterans eligible for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)-purchased care delivered in non-VA community care (CC) facilities. Driving >40 miles from home to a VA facility is a key eligibility criterion for CC. It remains unclear whether this policy change improved geographical access by reducing drive distance for Veterans. OBJECTIVES: Describe the driving distance for Veterans receiving cataract surgery in VA and CC facilities, and if they visited the closest-to-home facility or if they drove to farther facilities. SUBJECTS: Veterans who had cataract surgery in federal fiscal year 2015. MEASURES: We calculated driving miles to the Closest VA and CC facilities that performed cataract surgeries, and to the location where Veterans received care. RESULTS: A total of 61,746 Veterans received 83,875 cataract surgeries. More than 50% of CC surgeries occurred farther than the Closest CC facility providing cataract surgery (median Closest CC facility 8.7 miles vs. Actual CC facility, 19.7 miles). Most (57%) Veterans receiving cataract surgery at a VA facility used the Closest VA facility (median Closest VA facility 28.1 miles vs. Actual VA facility at 31.2 miles). In all, 26.1% of CC procedures occurred in facilities farther away than the Closest VA facility. CONCLUSIONS: Although many Veterans drove farther than needed to get cataract surgery in CC, this was not true for obtaining care in the VA. Our findings suggest that there may be additional reasons, besides driving distance, that affect whether Veterans choose CC and, if they do, where they seek CC.

Temporary Financial Assistance Decreased Health Care Costs For Veterans Experiencing Housing Instability.

Compared with housed people, those experiencing homelessness have longer and more expensive inpatient stays as well as more frequent emergency department visits. Efforts to provide stable housing situations for people experiencing homelessness could reduce health care costs. Through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, the Department of Veterans Affairs partners with community organizations to provide temporary financial assistance to veterans who are currently homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless. We examined the impact of temporary financial assistance on health care costs for veterans in the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program and found that, on average, people receiving the assistance incurred $352 lower health care costs per quarter than those who did not receive the assistance. These results can inform national policy debates regarding the proper solution to housing instability.

Longitudinal mental health outcomes of combat-injured service members.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between traumatic injury and subsequent mental health diagnoses is not well understood and may have significant implications for patient screening and clinical intervention. We sought to determine the adjusted association between traumatic injury and the subsequent development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. METHODS: Using Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs datasets between February 2002 and June 2016, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of 7,787 combat-injured United States service members matched 1:1 to combat-deployed, uninjured service members. The primary exposure was combat injury versus no combat injury. Outcomes were diagnoses of PTSD, depression, and anxiety, defined by International Classification of Diseases 9th and 10th Revision Clinical Modification codes. RESULTS: Compared to noninjured service members, injured service members had higher observed incidence rates per 100 person-years for PTSD (17.1 vs. 5.8), depression (10.4 vs. 5.7), and anxiety (9.1 vs. 4.9). After adjustment, combat-injured patients were at increased risk of development of PTSD (HR 2.92, 95%CI 2.68-3.17), depression (HR 1.47, 95%CI 1.36-1.58), and anxiety (HR 1.34, 95%CI 1.24-1.45). CONCLUSIONS: Traumatic injury is associated with subsequent development of PTSD, depression, and anxiety. These findings highlight the importance of increased screening, prevention, and intervention in patients with exposure to physical trauma.

Association of Temporary Financial Assistance With Housing Stability Among US Veterans in the Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program.

Importance: Temporary financial assistance (TFA) for housing-related expenses is a key component of interventions to prevent homelessness or to quickly house those who have become homeless. Through the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program, the department provides TFA to veterans in need of housing assistance. Objective: To assess the association between TFA and housing stability among US veterans enrolled in the SSVF program. Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cohort study analyzed data on veterans who were enrolled in the SSVF program at 1 of 203 partner organizations in 49 US states and territories. Some veterans had repeat SSVF episodes, but only the first episodes were included in this analysis. An episode was defined as the period between entry into and exit from the program occurring between October 1, 2015, and September 30, 2018. Exposures: Receipt of TFA. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was stable housing, defined as permanent, independent residence with payment by the program client or housing subsidy after exit from the SSVF program. Covariates included demographic characteristics, monthly income and source, public benefits, health insurance, use of other VA programs for homelessness, comorbidities, and geographic location. Multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression, inverse probability of treatment weighting, and instrumental variable approaches were used. Results: The overall cohort consisted of 41 969 veterans enrolled in the SSVF program, of whom 29 184 (mean [SD] age, 50.4 [12.9] years; 25 396 men [87.0%]) received TFA and 12 785 (mean [SD] age, 50.0 [13.3] years; 11 229 men [87.8%]) did not receive TFA. The mean (SD) duration of SSVF episodes was 90.5 (57.7) days. A total of 69.5% of SSVF episodes involved receipt of TFA, and the mean (SD) amount of TFA was $6070 ($7272). Stable housing was obtained in 81.4% of the episodes. Compared with those who did not receive TFA, veterans who received TFA were significantly more likely to have stable housing outcomes (risk difference, 0.253; 95% CI, 0.240-0.265). An association between the amount of TFA received and stable housing was also found, with risk differences ranging from 0.168 (95% CI, 0.149-0.188) for those who received $0 to $2000 in TFA to 0.226 (95% CI, 0.203-0.249) for those who received more than $2000 to $4000 in TFA. Conclusions and Relevance: This study found that receipt of TFA through the SSVF program was associated with increased rates of stable housing. These results may inform national policy debates regarding the optimal solutions to prevent and reduce housing instability.

The Enduring Health Consequences of Combat Trauma: a Legacy of Chronic Disease.

BACKGROUND: A better understanding of the long-term health effects of combat injury is important for the management of veterans' health in the Department of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) health care systems and may have implications for primary care management of civilian trauma patients. OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of traumatic injury on the subsequent development of hypertension (HTN), diabetes mellitus (DM), and coronary artery disease (CAD) after adjustment for sociodemographic, health behavior, and mental health factors. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of current and former US military personnel with data obtained from both the DoD and VA health care systems. PARTICIPANTS: Combat injured (n = 8727) service members between 1 February 2002 and 14 June 2016 randomly selected from the DoD Trauma Registry matched 1:1 based on year of birth, sex, and branch of service to subjects that deployed to a combat zone but were not injured. MAIN MEASURES: Traumatic injury, stratified by severity, compared with no documented injury. Diagnoses of HTN, DM, and CAD defined by International Classification of Diseases 9th or 10th Revision Clinical Modification codes. KEY RESULTS: After adjustment, severe traumatic injury was significantly associated with HTN (HR 2.78, 95% CI 2.18-3.55), DM (HR 4.45, 95% CI 2.15-9.18), and CAD (HR 4.87, 95% CI 2.11-11.25), compared with no injury. Less severe injury was associated with HTN (HR 1.14, 95% CI 1.05-1.24) and CAD (HR 1.62, 95% CI 1.11-2.37). CONCLUSIONS: Severe traumatic injury is associated with the subsequent development of HTN, DM, and CAD. These findings have profound implications for the primary care of injured service members in both the DoD/VA health systems and may be applicable to civilian trauma patients as well. Further exploration of pathophysiologic, health behavior, and mental health changes after trauma is warranted to guide future intervention strategies.

Persistent Opioid Use After Combat Injury and Subsequent Long-term Risk of Abuse: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether persistent opioid use after injury is associated with subsequent long-term development of clinically recognized opioid abuse. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Opioid abuse is an epidemic in the United States and trauma can initiate persistent use; however, it remains unclear whether persistent opioid use contributes to the subsequent development of opioid abuse. The care of combat casualties by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs uniquely allows investigation of this long-term outcome. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study randomly selected 10,000 battle-injured United States military personnel. We excluded patients who died during initial hospitalization or within 180 days of discharge, had a preinjury opioid abuse diagnosis, or had missing data in a preselected variable. We defined persistent opioid use as filling an opioid prescription 3 to 6 months after discharge and recorded clinically recognized opioid abuse using relevant diagnosis codes. RESULTS: After exclusion, 9284 subjects were analyzed, 2167 (23.3%) of whom developed persistent opioid use. During a median follow-up time of 8 years, 631 (6.8%) patients developed clinically recognized opioid abuse with a median time to diagnosis of 3 years. Injury severity and discharge opioid prescription amount were associated with persistent opioid use after trauma. After adjusting for patient and injury-specific factors, persistent opioid use was associated with the long-term development of clinically recognized opioid abuse (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.99-2.86). CONCLUSIONS: Nearly a quarter of patients filled an opioid prescription 3 to 6 months after discharge, and this persistent use was associated with long-term development of opioid abuse.