In This Issue

Director's Letter

Director's Letter
by Seth A. Eisen, M.D., M.Sc.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is considered the signature injury of the Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) conflicts. Penetrating TBI is clearly observable and receives immediate care. Closed TBIs are less apparent and can go undiagnosed...

Commentary

The Evolution of Women's Health Care Services in VA
by Patricia M.Hayes, Ph.D.,Women VeteransHealth Strategic Health Care Group

The number of women veterans utilizing VA health care will likely double in the next 2 to 4 years. Given this growth, the VA must evaluate current services and develop an implementation plan to enhance services for women veterans...

Response to Commentary

Achieving Equitable High-Quality Care for Women Veterans
by Elizabeth M. Yano, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., HSR&D Center for the Study of Healthcare Provider Behavior, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California

VA HSR&D Service has explicitly made women’s health services research a priority solicitation area for over a decade. While only a handful of women's health projects were funded in the early years, this changed significantly following the establishment of the VA women's health research agenda...

Research Highlights

Needs of Women Veterans Must be Carefully Considered in Building Tomorrow's VHA
by Susan M. Frayne, M.D., M.P.H., Center for Health Care Evaluation (CHCE), VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California

Women have served in the U.S. military since our country's birth. However, as a numeric minority in VA, they received little special attention until the 1990s, when multiple clinical programs were launched. Research on the health care needs of women veterans grew during the same period...

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Women Veterans
by Paula P. Schnurr, Ph.D., VA National Center for PTSD, VA Medical Center, White River Junction, Vermon

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have focused attention on the issue of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women veterans. Many people, including those in the media, have questioned whether PTSD prevalence is elevated in female OEF/OIF personnel because of the unique roles performed by these women...

Ambulatory Care Among Women Veterans: Access and Utilization
by Donna L. Washington, M.D., M.P.H., VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California

Women are one of the fastest growing segments of the veteran population, projected to comprise 14 percent of VA health care users by 2010. However, their numerical minority within the VA has created challenges to designing delivery systems that ensure their equitable access to high quality, gender-appropriate care...

Military Sexual Trauma
by Rachel Kimmerling, Ph.D., National Center for PTSD, and Center for Health Care Evaluation, VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Treatment of MST among OEF/OIF veterans presents new challenges for VA providers. We will be able to detect and treat sexual trauma more closely following separation from military service, allowing new opportunities to prevent potentially chronic health and mental health ...