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SDR 11-189 – HSR Study

 
SDR 11-189
Women Veterans Health Research Database
Paul G Shekelle, MD PhD MPH
VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, West Los Angeles, CA
West Los Angeles, CA
Funding Period: December 2010 - August 2013
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
Women veterans represent one of the fastest growing segments of new users of the VA health care system, with recent research demonstrating highly variable patterns of care, including use of traditional primary care clinics, women's clinics, an array of specialty services, high use of fee-basis care and substantial dual use of VA and non-VA providers. In addition, women have a different set of diagnoses in outpatient settings and a higher burden of mental health diagnoses compared with male veterans. However, the body of literature dedicated to women veterans' health and health care issues has only recently experienced escalated growth. A recent review entitled "Systematic review of women veterans health research: 2004-2008" by Bean-Mayberry et al. (2010) updated a previous systematic review by Goldzweig et al. (2006): "The state of Women Veterans' health research." The Bean-Mayberry et al. review showed that more research was published during the 5-year review (n=195) than the 25 years beforehand (n=182). While most VA women's health research remains observational, methods are evolving towards an analytical focus. New work includes post-deployment health, organizational research, and specific mental health outcomes, with greater emphasis on access/utilization and quality. Current gaps include post-deployment readjustment for veterans/families, and quality of care interventions/outcomes for physical and mental conditions.

OBJECTIVE(S):
In order to keep current on the state of women veterans' health research this one year project updated the literature database.

METHODS:
The database already included structured abstracts for articles from the Bean-Mayberry review, the older Goldzweig review, and updates current through July 2012. We updated this literature current through July 2013.

FINDINGS/RESULTS:
All data from the updates search through July 2013 have been abstracted and were submitted to CIDER in October, 2013. The website now includes these additional structured abstracts.

The database is accessible at:

http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/for_researchers/womens_health/search.cfm




IMPACT:
This updated database is a valuable tool for researchers and decision makers. There are links to it from an NIH website and we've received complimentary comments from both VA and DoD women's health researchers. It has received an average of about 100 users per month and each user averages 2-3 searches, meaning there are 200-300 searches of this database each month.


External Links for this Project

Dimensions for VA

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

Learn more about Dimensions for VA.

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
    Search Dimensions for this project

PUBLICATIONS:

None at this time.


DRA: none
DRE: Research Infrastructure
Keywords: none
MeSH Terms: none

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Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.