As the number of women Veterans increases, it is vital to understand their unique healthcare needs and to disseminate research findings that might affect policy and/or practice in order to improve care. Moreover, they are enrolling in cohort studies and clinical trials in greater numbers, but too few trials report results by sex or gender. Articles in a new special supplement to the journal Women’s Health Issues examine those discrepancies. The supplement, Examining Sex/Gender Differences in Veterans Affairs Research, was sponsored by VA’s Cooperative Studies Program and coordinated with VA’s Women’s Health Research Network, and features significant contributions from investigators with VA’s Health Services Research & Development Service (HSR&D).
“Our research program is a major driver of VA’s ability to provide patient-centered, evidence-based care for women Veterans,” said Rachel B. Ramoni, DMD, ScD, VA’s Chief Research and Development Officer. “This collection of articles highlights some of the innovative, impactful work we are doing in this area.”
Articles include commentaries providing historical context and recommendations for future research on sex/gender differences, examinations of how existing VA research addresses these differences, analyses of health and health behaviors among men and women enrolled in cohort studies of Gulf War Era Veterans, and studies on sex/gender differences in specific areas of health—from trauma and suicide to smoking and obesity. HSR&D contributors include:
In addition, HSR&D investigators Lori Bastian MD, MPH; Wei Duan-Porter, MD, PhD; Kristen Gray, PhD; MS; Megan Kelly, PhD; Sarah Wilson, PhD; Keith Humphreys, PhD; Ruth Klap PhD; and Elizabeth Yano, MSPH, PhD, served as guest editors for the Supplement.
Women’s Health Issues is the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, based in the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University.
