The purpose of this study is to identify factors influencing patient preferences for communication from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) during natural disasters. The 37-question, probability-based survey collected data from 2,264 VA users living in the Northeast US logistic regression analyses were conducted for top four modalities, and age was identified as the most important predictor of communication preferences. The findings suggest that the use of multiple modalities, such as telephone, television, radio, text, and email is necessary to successfully disseminate information and effectively reach all VA patients in the event of large-scale emergencies.
Keywords: Healthcare systems; disasters; information sources; surveys; veterans.