Oral

Women are now the fastest growing group within the Veteran population. The number of women Veterans receiving care in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has more than doubled since 2000, with many younger Veterans having served in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Some of these returning women Veterans experienced combat and share similar health issues with their male counterparts, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury, and the like. Women Veterans underutilize VHA services relative to men, raising concerns regarding issues of access. Ensuring access for women Veterans to high quality health care services is among the highest priorities within VHA. This session will examine the health and health care of women Veterans of all ages, highlighting VHA research efforts to evaluate and improve women Veteran’s healthcare access, utilization, and quality. Presentations in this session will be made by some of the leading experts in women Veteran’s health research. We will first provide an overview of who the nation’s women Veterans are, and how VHA health care services for women are organized. We will then provide data from a national, population-based telephone survey of women Veterans that identified potentially modifiable health care access barriers. National data will also be presented that characterizes the women Veterans who use VHA, and their health care utilization patterns. This is important program evaluation data that helps to inform VHA efforts to continually refine its systems of women’s health care. Next, results from the Women Veterans Cohort Study will be presented. This study characterized gender differences in medical and mental health outcomes and utilization in a special population, those Veterans recently returned from deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan. Finally, we will describe mental health care for women Veterans who have experienced Military Sexual Trauma, and implications for tailoring mental health services for women in VHA. The session will conclude with future directions for research that capitalizes on the national VHA Women’s Health Research Network, and an opportunity for audience questions and comments.

Session Objectives: 1. List three sociodemographic, health status and health care utilization characteristics of women Veterans who receive care in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) 2. List general and veteran-specific factors that impact women Veterans’ access to care 3. Identify women Veterans’ reasons for delayed health care or unmet health care needs 4. Describe demographic and healthcare utilization differences between male and female Veterans of OEF/OIF who use VA care 5. Describe mental health conditions associated with Military Sexual Trauma 6. Describe characteristics of gender-sensitive mental health care

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH) , Masters Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES)