Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
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Womens Health Issues · Jul 2011
Tailoring VA primary care to women veterans: association with patient-rated quality and satisfaction.
Primary care delivery models tailored to women's needs and preferences are associated with higher quality and satisfaction. Therefore, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recommends adoption of designated providers for women in primary care clinics or women's health centers as the optimal models for women's primary care. We assessed women veterans' ratings of their VA health care quality, gender-related satisfaction, gender appropriateness, and VA provider skills in treating women, in relation to primary care model at VA sites nationwide. ⋯ VA sites with primary care models tailored to women were rated higher on most dimensions of care. Facilitating establishment of these optimal care models at other sites is one strategy for improving women veterans' experiences with VA care. Research to identify other features of care associated with quality could inform ongoing VA quality transformation efforts.
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Womens Health Issues · Jul 2011
Comparative StudyPsychiatric diagnoses and neurobehavioral symptom severity among OEF/OIF VA patients with deployment-related traumatic brain injury: a gender comparison.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has substantial negative implications for the post-deployment adjustment of veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF); however, most research on veterans has focused on males. This study investigated gender differences in psychiatric diagnoses and neurobehavioral symptom severity among OEF/OIF veterans with deployment-related TBI. ⋯ Although PTSD was the most common condition for both men and women, it is also critical for providers to identify and treat other conditions, especially depression and neurobehavioral symptoms, among women veterans with deployment-related TBI.
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Womens Health Issues · Jul 2011
"Homelessness and trauma go hand-in-hand": pathways to homelessness among women veterans.
Veterans comprise a disproportionate fraction of the nation's homeless population, with women veterans up to four times more likely to be homeless than non-veteran women. This paper provides a grounded description of women veterans' pathways into homelessness. ⋯ Collectively, these multiple, interacting roots and contextual factors form a "web of vulnerability" that is a target for action. Multiple points along the pathways to homelessness represent critical junctures for VA and community-based organizations to engage in prevention or intervention efforts on behalf of women veterans. Considering the multiple, interconnected challenges that these women veterans described, solutions to homelessness should address multiple risk factors, include trauma-informed care that acknowledges women veterans' traumatic experiences, and incorporate holistic responses that can contribute to healing and recovery.