Abstract
Background
Given recent, rapid growth in the field of women veterans' mental health, the goal
of this review was to update the status of women veterans' mental health research
and to identify current themes in this literature. The scope of this review included
women veterans' unique mental health needs, as well as gender differences in veterans'
mental health needs.
Methods
Database searches were conducted for relevant articles published between January 2008
and July 2011. Searches were supplemented with bibliographic reviews and consultation
with subject matter experts.
Findings
The database search yielded 375 titles; 32 met inclusion/exclusion criteria. The women
veterans' mental health literature crosses over several domains, including prevalence,
risk factors, health care utilization, treatment preferences, and access barriers.
Studies were generally cross-sectional, descriptive, mixed-gender, and examined Department
of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care users from all service eras. Results indicate
higher rates of specific disorders (e.g., depression) and comorbidities, with differing
risk factors and associated medical and functional impairment for female compared
with male veterans. Although satisfaction with VA health care is generally high, unique
barriers to care and indices of treatment satisfaction exist for women.
Conclusions
There is a breadth of descriptive knowledge in many content areas of women veterans'
mental health; however, the research base examining interventional and longitudinal
designs is less developed. Understudied content areas and targets for future research
and development include certain psychiatric disorders (e.g., schizophrenia), the effects
of deployment on woman veterans' families, and strategies to address treatment access,
attrition, and provision of gender-sensitive care.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Women's Health IssuesAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Mental illness and substance use disorders among women veterans with diabetes.Women's Health Issues. 2009; 19: 446-456
- Health effects of military service on women veterans.(No. VA-ESP Project # 05–226) Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research & Development Service, Washington, DC2011
- Systematic review of women veterans’ health: Update on successes and gaps.Women's Health Issues. 2011; 21: S84-S97
- Perceptions of quality of health care among veterans with psychiatric disorders.Psychiatric Services. 2011; 62: 1054-1059
- Mental health diagnoses and utilization of VA non-mental health medical services among returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2009; 36: 25-34
- Individual and program predictors of attrition from VA substance use treatment.Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research. 2009; 36: 25-34
- Female veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan seeking care from VA specialized PTSD programs: Comparison with male veterans and female war zone veterans of previous eras.Journal of Women's Health. 2010; 19: 751-757
- The VA Women’s Health Practice-Based Research Network: Amplifying women veterans' voices in VA research.Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2013; 28: S504-S509
- Medical care needs of returning veterans with PTSD: Their other burden.Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2011; 26: 33-39
- Sourcebook: Women Veterans in the Veterans Health Administration. Volume 1. Sociodemographic Characteristics and Use of VHA care.Women's Health Evaluation Initiative, Women Veterans Health Strategic Health Care Group, Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington DC2010
- Sourcebook: Women Veterans in the Veterans Health Administration. Volume 2. Sociodemographics and Use of VHA and Non-VA Care (Fee).Women’s Health Evaluation Initiative, Women’s Health Services, Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C.2012
- Gender disparities in Veterans Health Administration care: Importance of accounting for veteran status.Medical Care. 2008; 46: 549-553
- Gender differences in traumatic event exposure and mental health among veteran primary care patients.Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2010; 175: 50-758
- New women veterans in the VA: A longitudinal profile.Women's Health Issues. 2011; 21: S103-S111
- The state of women veterans’ health research: Results of a systematic literature review.Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2006; 21: S82-S92
- Racial disparities in trauma exposure, psychiatric symptoms, and service use among female patients in Veterans Affairs primary care clinics.Women's Health Issues. 2008; 18: 433-441
- The burden of illness in the first year home: Do male and female users differ in health conditions and healthcare utilization.Women's Health Issues. 2011; 21: 92-97
- Recognition and management of alcohol misuse in OEF/OIF and other veterans in the VA: A cross-sectional study.Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2010; 109: 147-271
- Improving health of veterans through research collaborations.Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2013; 28: S495-S497
- Military sexual trauma.PTSD Research Quarterly. 2009; 20: 1-3
- Psychiatric diagnoses and risk of suicide in veterans.Archives of General Psychiatry. 2010; 67: 1152-1158
- Returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan: Assessment of readjustment needs of veterans, service members, and their families.The National Academies Press, Washington, DC2013
- Psychiatric diagnosis and neurobehavioral symptom severity among OEF/OIF VA patients with deployment-related traumatic brain injury: A gender comparison.Women's Health Issues. 2011; 21: S210-S217
- Description, development and philosophies of mental health service delivery for female veterans in the VA: A qualitative study.Women's Health Issues. 2011; 21: S138-S144
- Gender differences in military sexual trauma and mental health diagnoses among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.Women's Health Issues. 2012; 22: e61-e66
- Gender differences in mental health diagnoses among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans enrolled in Veterans Affairs health care.American Journal of Public Health. 2010; 100: 2450-2456
- Pregnancy and mental health among women veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.Journal of Women's Health. 2010; 19: 2159-2166
- Evolving comprehensive VA women's health care: Patient characteristics, needs and preferences.Women's Health Issues. 2011; 21: S120-S129
- Veterans using and uninsured veterans not using Veterans Affairs (VA) health care.Public Health Reports. 2007; 122: 93-100
Office of the Actuary, Department of Veterans Affairs (2011). Veteran population projections: FY2010 to FY2040. Retrieved July 3, 2013 from Veteran Population website: http://www.va.gov/vetdata/docs/QuickFacts/Population_quickfacts.pdf.
- National variations in VA mental health care for women veterans.Women's Health Issues. 2011; 21: S130-S137
- Comparing the health status of VA and non-VA ambulatory patients.Journal of Ambulatory Care Management. 2004; 27: 249-262
- Organization of care and diagnosed depression among women veterans.American Journal of Managed Care. 2010; 16: 657-665
- Depression treatment patterns among women veterans with cardiovascular conditions or diabetes.World Psychiatry. 2010; 9: 177-182
- Family problems among recently returned military veterans referred for a mental health evaluation.Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2009; 70: 163-170
- Cognitive- behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder in women: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of the American Medical Association. 2007; 297: 820-830
- Sexual function outcomes in women treated for posttraumatic stress disorder.Journal of Women's Health. 2009; 18: 1549-1557
- Work-related quality of life and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among female veterans.Women's Health Issues. 2011; 21: S169-S175
- Reducing barriers to mental health and social services for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans: Outcomes of an integrated primary care clinic.Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2011; 26: 1160-1167
- Depressive disorders among cohorts of women veterans with diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension.Journal of Women's Health. 2010; 19: 1475-1486
- Is military sexual trauma associated with trading sex among women veterans seeking outpatient mental health care?.Journal of Trauma and Dissociation. 2011; 12: 290-304
- Gender differences among veterans deployed in support of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2013; 28: 2556-2562
- Military sexual trauma: A review of prevalence and associated health consequences in veterans.Trauma, Violence, and Abuse. 2008; 9: 250-269
- Utilization and intensity of outpatient care related to military sexual trauma for veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq.Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research. 2012; 39: 220-233
- Sexual assault in the U.S. military: A review of the literature and recommendations for the future.Aggression and Violent Behavior. 2010; 15: 267-277
- Pre-deployment, deployment, and post-deployment risk factors for posttraumatic stress symptomatology in female and male OEF/OIF veterans.Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 2011; 120: 819-831
- Gender differences in combat-related stressors and their association with post-deployment mental health in a nationally representative sample of U.S. OEF/OIF veterans.Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 2011; 120: 797-806
- Women, alcohol, and the military: Cultural changes and reduction in later alcohol problems among female veterans.Journal of Women's Health. 2009; 18: 1347-1353
- Access to care for women veterans: Delayed healthcare and unmet needs.Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2011; 26: 655-661
- A comparison of substance use disorder severity and course in American Indian male and female veterans.American Journal of Addictions. 2009; 18: 87-92
- Using research to transform care for women veterans: Advancing the research agenda and enhancing research–clinical partnerships.Women's Health Issues. 2011; 21: S573-S583
Biography
Jennifer J. Runnals, PhD, works for the Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research Educational and Clinical Center, Durham, North Carolina, and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina. Her research interests include trauma, chronic pain, and women's mental health.
Biography
Natara Garovoy, PhD, MPH, works in the Women's Counseling Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California, and the Mental Health Services, Department of Veteran Affairs, Washington, DC. Her research interests include stress and trauma, gender and women's mental health, and health promotion.
Biography
Susan J. McCutcheon, EdD, works for the Office of Mental Health Services in the Department of Veteran Affairs, Washington, DC. Her research interests include women's mental health, military sexual trauma, impact of deployment, and reintegration of families.
Biography
Allison T. Robbins, BA, works in the Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research Educational and Clinical Center, Durham, North Carolina. Her research interests include trauma, complex posttraumatic stress disorder, chronic health concerns, and resiliency in families.
Biography
Monica C. Mann-Wrobel, PhD, works at the Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research Educational and Clinical Center, Durham, North Carolina, and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina. Her research interests include complex posttraumatic stress disorder, serious mental illness, third-wave behavioral interventions, couples, and families.
Biography
Alyssa Elliott, BA, works for the Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research Educational and Clinical Center, Durham, North Carolina. Her research interests include trauma, interpersonal violence, and resiliency in military families.
Biography
Jennifer L. Strauss, PhD, works for the Office of Mental Health Services, Department of Veteran Affairs, Washington, DC, and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina. Her research interests include women's mental health, trauma, clinical trials, and integrative medicine.
Article Info
Publication History
Accepted:
June 30,
2014
Received in revised form:
June 13,
2014
Received:
February 27,
2014
Footnotes
There are no financial conflicts of interest to report. Funding for preparation of the manuscript was provided, in part, by the VISN 6 MIRECC at the DVAMC. The views expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Identification
Copyright
Published by Elsevier Inc.
