Women returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom:Comparison of healthcare utilization among women & men veterans

Objectives: We compared factors affecting postwar healthcare utilization among women and men veterans receiving care at VA Connecticut clinics who participated in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) / Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Methods: We abstracted clinic utilization data from the VA's electronic medical record (EMR) on returning OEF/OIF veterans who used the VA CT healthcare system. Results: We identified 141 women and 690 men veterans who had at least one outpatient visit in primary care or women's health clinic (p<0.05) in the past 3 years. The mean age of veterans utilizing VA health care services was 31 years for women and 34 years for men (p<0.00). Twenty-six percent of women using VA CT healthcare services identified as African-American compared to 13% of men (p<0.00). Women veterans seeking healthcare were less likely to be married (23%) as compared to men (39%) (p=0.00). Forty-nine percent of the women veterans with a history of combat exposure utilized health care services compared with 42% of men veterans (p<0.30). Women veterans on VA disability were more likely (62%) to use VA health care facilities as compared to men (53%).(p= 0.14). Conclusions: There are significant demographic differences between women and men veterans of OEF/OIF who use the VA CT healthcare system and these differences may affect healthcare needs and utilization patterns.