Abstract:This paper analyzes whether and to the degree which Veterans’ trust in The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) influences their propensity to utilize VA benefits and services available to them. In addition, there is an exploratory component which seeks to identify the elements of trust most important to Veterans, what can be done to influence or change their level of trust, and by whom those changes can be madeTo answer this question, we 518 Veterans were sampled (with a net sample size of 336 for quantitative analysis and 348 for qualitative analysis) using a survey composed of Likertscale and open-text field questions. We utilized a binomial logistic regression and correlation analysis for hypothesis testing purposes. For our exploratory analysis, we used natural language processing (NLP) machine learning techniques known as Opinion mining and sentiment analysis (OSMA), otherwise known as sentiment analysis, and topic modeling to identify and extract participant sentiment and topics relative to their levels of trust.Our results showed trust in VA can be a determinant in a Veteran’s decision to utilize VA benefits and services which they are eligible for. Further, multiple varying topics were identified as factors influencing trust including wait times, level of perceived care by VA staff, and nonVA federal administrative staff. From an administrative and resource allocation perspective, VA and federal government administrative staff could leverage these findings to identify actionable changes in processes, literature, and engagement with Veterans to increase trust and utilization of VA benefits and services which has shown in previous studies to decrease suicidality, homelessness, and provide an overall higher quality of life.