# Exploring perceptions, behaviours, and experiences in relation to My VAC Account - Text Description

Figure 1: Demographic profile of survey respondents
In which province or territory do you live? | Frequency
--- | ---
Alberta | 13%
British Columbia | 13%
Manitoba | 4%
New Brunswick | 9%
Newfoundland and Labrador | 3%
Nova Scotia | 17%
Ontario | 23%
Prince Edward Island | 1%
Quebec | 14%
Saskatchewan | 2%
Territories | <1%
Prefer not to say | 2%
Age |
18-29 | 1%
30-39 | 12%
40-49 | 16%
50-59 | 31%
60-69 | 25%
70-79 | 11%
80+ | 3%
I prefer not to say | <1%
% who have you EVER visited a VAC area office | 45%
Indigenous |
First Nations | 3%
Métis | 3%
No | 88%
I prefer not to say | 7%
Language Spoken at Home |
English | 86%
French | 17%
Another language (multiple responses accepted) | 1%
Gender |
Male | 3%
Female | 3%
Another Gender | 88%
Prefer not to say | 7%
Internet Commection |
Dial-up | 1%
High speed | 94%
Do not know | 1%
No internet at home | 1%
Prefer not to say | 3%

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Figure 2: Type of My VAC Account User
Retired member of the CAF | 67%
Serving member of the CAF | 12%
Serving member of the RCMP | 9%
Retired member of the RCMP | 8%
A war Veteran | 1%
Family member who receives benefits | 1%

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Figure 3: Characteristics of focus group participants
Type of My VAC Account user | Number of Participants
--- | ---
War Veteran | 4 participants
Retired or still-serving member of the CAF | 6 participants
Retired or still-serving member of the RCMP | 2 participants
Frequency of using My VAC Account in the past year | Number of Participants
Four to 10 times | 2 participants
More than 10 times | 10 participants
Age | Number of Participants
30 to 39 | 3 participants
40 to 49 | 5 participants
50 to 59 | 2 participants
60 to 69 | 1 participant
70 to 79 | 1 participant
Gender | Number of Participants
Male | 10 participants
Female | 2 participants
Region | Number of Participants
Atlantic Canada | 1 participant
Quebec | 4 participants
Ontario | 4 participants
West | 3 participants

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Figure 4: Registration process used
GCKey | 54%
Sign-in Partner | 43%
Cant recall/ prefer not to say | 3%

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Figure 5: Reason(s) for using GCKey
I was more comfortable with GCKey. | 68%
I didn't want to use my banking information. | 27%
My bank wasn't an option in Sign-in Partner. | 10%
I can't recall. | 14%

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Figure 6: Ease of registration process
Very easy | 41%
Somewhat easy | 34%
Somewhat difficult | 9%
Very difficult | 4%
I can't recall | 13%

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Figure 7: Agreement with steps required for registration
Strongly agree | 40%
Agree | 41%
Neutral | 8%
Disagree | 1%
Strongly disagree | 6%
I don't know | 5%

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Figure 8: Source of Awareness
VAC staff member | 25%
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) | 21%
Word of mouth (e.g., from a friend or colleague) | 14%
Browsing the VAC website | 12%
Information sent to you by VAC | 12%
Veterans' organization or event | 4%
Another government department/office | 3%
Other, please specify | 3%
I can't recall | 7%

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Figure 9: Frequency of Use
At least once a day | 10%
Several times a week | 26%
About once a week | 23%
About once a month | 24%
Less than once a month | 15%

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Figure 10: Use of Features
Applying online for VAC benefits/services | 89%
Receiving correspondence from VAC in My VAC Account | 85%
Communicating with VAC staff through secure messaging | 83%
Viewing a summary of my benefits | 82%
Uploading documents to support my applications | 79%
Updating my personal information | 70%
Signing up for direct deposit/ changing banking information | 63%
Adding my email address to receive email notifications | 59%
Changing communications preferences | 32%
Communicating with the BPA | 27%
Communicating with the VRAB | 17%
Accessing COVID-19 related features/information | 15%
Other | 3%

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Figure 11: Helpfulness of information found on Member Task List
Very helpful | 59%
Slightly helpful | 27%
Not at all helpful | 5%
I can't recall | 7%

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Figure 12: Helpfulness of the Wait Time Tool
Very helpful | 6%
Moderately helpful | 21%
Slightly helpful | 24%
Not at all helpful | 46%

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Figure 13: Approximate time expected on application
Yes, the tool told me when to expect a decision | 46%
No, the tool did not tell me when to expect a decision | 48%
I can't recall | 4%

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Figure 14: Usefulness of Track your Application Tool
Helped find out the status of my application | 39%
Helped in part / somewhat | 45%
Did not help | 15%

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Figure 15: Details available through Track Your Applications Tool
Yes, the tool provides enough detail | 26%
No, the tool does not provide enough detail | 69%
I don't know | 5%

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Figure 16: Reason(s) Track Your Applications was missing details
Lack of information at the various steps / only states which step with no additional details | 30%
Encountered delays / timeline is inaccurate | 29%
Information about status is too vague / generic | 25%
No estimated date of approval provided | 9%
Other reasons | 17%

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Figure 17: Reason(s) for not using the Track Applications Tool
I did not need to use it | 59%
I did not know about it | 12%
It seemed complicated to use | 9%
Other | 15%
I don't know | 9%
Prefer not to say | 1%

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Figure 18: Preferred method for contacting VAC
Secure message in My VAC Account | 59%
Phone | 25%
Email | 10%
In-person | 3%
Other | 2%

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Figure 19: Use of Secure Messaging in past 12 months
Yes, I have used secure messaging | 80%
No, I have not used secure messaging | 15%
I can't recall | 4%

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Figure 20: Frequency of Connecting with VAC Staff via Secure Messaging
| Past 6 months | Past 12 months
Once | 12% | 8%
Twice | 14% | 12%
3 to 4 times | 16% | 15%
5 to 9 times | 15% | 17%
10+ times | 7% | 15%
Many times (unspecified) | 2% | 2%
I can't recall | 22% | 24%
I haven't connected | 10% | 6%

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Figure 21: Waiting time for Secure Messaging reply
| Actual | Expected
Less than one business day | 3% | 4%
1-2 business days | 38% | 43%
3-5 business days | 47% | 43%
More than 5 business days | 9% | 8%

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Figure 22: Connecting with case manager via Secure Messaging
Connected with case manager | 33%
Did not connect with case manager | 26%
Do not have a case manager | 37%
I can't recall | 4%

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Figure 23: Satisfaction with secure messaging system
| Past 6 months | Past 12 months
Very satisfied | 37% | 35%
Satisfied | 29% | 31%
Neutral | 13% | 12%
Dissatisfied | 11% | 12%
Very dissatisfied | 9% | 10%

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Figure 24: Need for follow up with VAC staff
Yes, had to follow up | 55%
No, did not need to re-contact VAC | 36%
I can't recall | 8%

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Figure 25: Preferred method to receive VAC updates
Through My VAC Account | 61%
Email | 32%
Mail | 2%

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Figure 26: News and Notifications Section
I don't know | 8%
Something else | 5%
Commemoration events and related news | 30%
Mental health information and services | 47%
New programs and services | 77%
Updates to My VAC Account and new features | 78%
Changes to benefits | 82%

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Figure 27: Preferred frequency of VAC news
I don't know | 3%
Only when necessary | 17%
Once a year | 1%
Twice a year | 10%
Once a month | 51%
Once a week | 16%

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Figure 28: Experience accessing information on My VAC Account
I generally find everything I need | 29%
I generally find most of what I need | 38%
I generally find some of what I need | 28%
I generally find none of what I need | 4%

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Figure 29: Reason(s) for not finding all the information needed
The information does not have enough detail | 67%
The information is difficult to understand | 22%
My VAC Account is hard to navigate | 15%
My VAC Account is complicated to access | 6%
Some forms are hard to find/use | 4%
Wait times are inaccurate/not up-to-date | 4%
Other | 6%

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Figure 30: Perceptions of the information in My VAC Account
| Strongly Agree | Agree | Neither | Disagree | Strongly Disagree | I Don't Know
Information is easy to find | 20% | 46% | 18% | 11% | 4% |
Information is easy to understand | 18% | 43% | 20% | 14% | 5% |
I understand the next steps | 16% | 40% | 22% | 14% | 6% |
Information includes helpful external resources | 14% | 36% | 27% | 9% | 5% | 7%
Information has the right amount of detail | 13% | 28% | 17% | 27% | 14% |

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Figure 31: Perceptions of different aspects of My VAC Account
| Strongly Agree | Agree | Neither | Disagree | Strongly Disagree | I Don't Know
I think My VAC Account uses practices that ensure system security. | 27% | 56% | 10% |  |  | 4%
I would recommend My VAC Account to others. | 35% | 44% | 12% | 3% | 4% |
I can do the business I need to with VAC through My VAC Account. | 21% | 47% | 19% | 8% | 4% |
My VAC Account is visually appealing. | 12% | 46% | 31% | 6% | 3% |
I like the updates that I have seen in My VAC Account in the past year. | 17% | 41% | 28% | 5% | 4% | 4%

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Figure 32: Reasons for disagreeing with the statements about My VAC Account
Statement | Feedback
--- | ---
I think My VAC Account uses practices that ensure system security. | No one disagreed with this statement.
I would recommend My VAC Account to others. (n=40) | Those who disagreed tended to point to their perception that My VAC Account is not easy to use (e.g., it is hard to navigate) or not particularly useful because the information provided is not helpful (e.g., it provides generic information about the processing of applications).
I can do the business I need to with VAC through My VAC Account. (n=65) | Reasons for disagreeing with this statement ranged from the perception that the site provides inaccurate wait times for the processing of applications, to having to call VAC to resolve the issue or get the information they tried to find on My VAC Account, to this site providing generic information or information that lacks the necessary details.
My VAC Account is visually appealing. (n=38) | Those who disagreed that My VAC Account is visually appealing attributed this to myriad reasons including, but not limited to, the following: it looks "old" and/or "dated", it looks like a "typical government website", "it is boring", it is "too busy", it is not intuitively designed nor mobile friendly, and it feels "drab" and "dull".
I like the updates that I have seen in My VAC Account in the past year. (n=41) | My VAC Account users who disagreed with this statement tended to point to the following: their perception that there have not been any updates to My VAC Account and their opinion that the updates have not improved/addressed the issues they have with My VAC Account, such as wait times and the lack of detailed information provided when tracking applications.

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Figure 33: Overall satisfaction with My VAC Account
Very satisfied | 31%
Satisfied | 40%
Neither | 15%
Dissatisfied | 9%
Very dissatisfied | 4%

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Figure 34: Reason for dissatisfaction with My VAC Account
Not enough details provided to find forms / specific information | 59%
Lack of support / assistance | 59%
Minimal communication / updates from VAC | 49%
Features are difficult to use | 31%
Technical difficulties | 27%
Trouble finding information | 26%
Other | 12%
I don't know | 2%
Prefer not to say | 5%

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