Incidence and risk factors for postpartum mood and anxiety disorders among women veterans.

Background: Our aim was to determine rates of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) among U.S. women Veterans and the overlap among PMADs.

Online Screening and Personalized Education to Identify Post-Deployment Mental Health Need and Facilitate Access to Care.

Introduction: Reserve and National Guard (RNG) service members face increased risks for psychological and behavioral problems and are unlikely to seek mental health (MH) care after returning from military deployments. This article examines an online intervention (Web-Ed) with regard to participation, screening results, satisfaction, and intent to seek follow-up MH care, with comparisons by gender and post-deployment MH care receipt.

Materials And Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 414 RNG service members (214 women and 200 men), who returned from deployments to or in support of the Iraq or Afghanistan wars within the prior 36 months.

Expert Recommendations for Designing Reporting Systems to Address Patient-Perpetrated Sexual Harassment in Healthcare Settings.

Background: Patient-perpetrated sexual harassment toward staff and patients is prevalent in Veterans Affairs and other healthcare settings. However, many healthcare facilities do not have adequate systems for reporting patient-perpetrated harassment, and there is limited evidence to guide administrators in developing them.

Objective: To identify expert recommendations for designing effective systems for reporting patient-perpetrated sexual harassment of staff and patients in Veterans Affairs and other healthcare settings.

Experiencing Sexual Assault and/or Stalking-Related Behavior is Associated with Binge Drinking and Substance Use Consequences in Deployed U.S. Servicewomen.

Background: Being deployed is a risk factor for poor postdeployment mental health outcomes in U.S. servicewomen, including harmful drinking.

Associations Between Sexual Assault and Reproductive and Family Planning Behaviors and Outcomes in Female Veterans.

Objective: To examine the relationship between lifetime sexual assault (defined as someone having experienced sexual assault in their lifetime) and reproductive health care seeking, contraception usage, and family planning outcomes in female veterans.

Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data collected between 2005 and 2008 from computer-assisted telephone interviews with 1,004 female veterans aged 20-52 years who were enrolled at two Midwestern Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care systems. Participants were asked about reproductive, mental, and general health histories, and about lifetime sexual assault.

Lifetime History of Sexual Assault and Emergency Department Service Use among Women Veterans.

Background: Although sexual assault survivors are at increased risk for adverse physical and mental health outcomes and tend to use more health care services, little is known about women veterans' lifetime history of experiencing sexual assault (lifetime sexual assault [LSA]) and emergency department (ED) use. We sought to examine associations between experiencing LSA, mental health diagnoses, and ED use among women veterans.

Methods: Computer-assisted telephone interviews were conducted with 980 women veterans enrolled at two Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Centers to assess history of experiencing LSA, health care use, sociodemographic characteristics, and military history.

Factors Associated with U.S. Military Women Keeping Guns or Weapons Nearby for Personal Security Following Deployment.

The relationship between postdeployment health characteristics and U.S. military women and women Veteran's gun/weapons use for personal safety outside of military is not well understood.

Associations between Augmentee Status, Deployment Stress Preparedness and Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Binge Drinking in U.S. Servicewomen.

Background: Being deployed without one's home unit (individual-augmentee) and low perceived deployment preparedness are risk factors for mental health symptoms and substance use in male service members. However, these relationships have not been examined specifically in U.S.

Infertility and Health-Related Quality of Life in United States Women Veterans.

To assess associations between infertility and health-related quality of life and medical comorbidities in U.S. women Veterans.

Sexual Assault in the Military and Increased Odds of Sexual Pain Among Female Veterans.

Objective: To examine whether the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and sexual function in civilian women is also found among female veterans, and to consider the additional effects of sexual assault in the military.

Methods: Using a retrospective cohort design, participants (N=1,004) from two midwestern Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers and associated clinics completed a telephone-assisted interview on sexual assault, sexual pain, and mental health. Binary logistic regression was used to compare the rates of sexual pain between women with no sexual assault history, histories of childhood sexual abuse alone, histories of sexual assault in the military alone, and histories of childhood sexual abuse and sexual assault in the military.

Sexual Trauma Screening for Men and Women: Examining the Construct Validity of a Two-Item Screen.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States, has conducted universal screening for military sexual trauma (MST) to facilitate MST-related care since 2002. VHA defines MST as sexual assault or repeated, threatening sexual harassment that occurred during military service. Evidence of construct validity, the degree to which the screen is measuring what it purports to measure (i.

Ethnic Minority Status and Experiences of Infertility in Female Veterans.

Background: In the general population, infertility is increasingly prevalent in ethnic minority women; these women suffer longer and are less likely to access care. There is a paucity of data regarding the issue of race and infertility in the growing female military veteran population.

Materials And Methods: This cross-sectional observational study involved computer-assisted telephone interviews of 1,004 Veterans Administration (VA)-enrolled women aged ≤52 years.

Factors Impacting Perceived Access to Early Prenatal Care among Pregnant Veterans Enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Background: Despite the relatively recent Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) policy advances in providing care for veterans and their infants during the perinatal period, little information exists regarding access to prenatal care for women veterans. Currently, VA medical centers do not provide onsite pregnancy care for veterans, but pay for care from community obstetricians through the Veterans Choice Program (VCP) and related non-VA care programs. The VCP is subcontracted to two large contractors, Health Net and TriWest, to assist the VA in administering the VCP.

Servicemen's Perceptions of Male Sexual Assault and Barriers to Reporting During Active Component and Reserve/National Guard Military Service.

Despite growing recognition of the high rates of sexual violence experienced by men serving in the U.S. military, male victimization, specifically sexual assault in military (SAIM), is an understudied topic.

Sexual assault in the US military: A comparison of risk in deployed and non-deployed locations among Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom active component and Reserve/National Guard servicewomen.

Background: To determine whether sexual assault in the military (SAIM) among active component and Reserve/National Guard servicewomen is more likely to occur in deployed or non-deployed locations; and which location poses greater risk for SAIM when time spent in-location is considered.

Methods: A total of 1337 Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom era servicewomen completed telephone interviews eliciting socio-demographics, military and sexual assault histories, including attempted and completed sexual assault.

Results: Half of the sample had been deployed (58%).

Longitudinal associations between mental health conditions and overactive bladder in women veterans.

Background: One in 5 recently deployed US women veterans report overactive bladder symptoms. Mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety commonly co-occur in women with overactive bladder, but temporal relationships between these outcomes have not been well studied, and the mechanism behind this association is unknown. The Women Veterans Urinary Health Study, a nationwide longitudinal study in recently deployed women veterans, was designed to better understand relationships between overactive bladder and mental health conditions.

Lifetime Sexual Assault and Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Women Veterans.

Objective: Women veterans report a high prevalence of sexual assault. Unfortunately, there are limited data on the reproductive health sequelae faced by these women. Our objective was to evaluate the association between completed lifetime sexual assault (LSA) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among a cohort of women veterans, adjusting for sexual risk behaviors.

The Relationship Between US Military Officer Leadership Behaviors and Risk of Sexual Assault of Reserve, National Guard, and Active Component Servicewomen in Nondeployed Locations.

Objectives: To determine if military leader behaviors are associated with active component and Reserve-National Guard servicewomen's risk of sexual assault in the military (SAIM) for nondeployed locations.

Methods: A community sample of 1337 Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom-era Army and Air Force servicewomen completed telephone interviews (March 2010-December 2011) querying sociodemographic and military characteristics, sexual assault histories, and leader behaviors. We created 2 factor scores (commissioned and noncommissioned) to summarize behaviors by officer rank.

Effectiveness of an Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Approach to Cultural Competence Training: The Veterans Affairs' "Caring for Women Veterans" Program.

Introduction: Although providing culturally sensitive health care is vitally important, there is little consensus regarding the most effective strategy for implementing cultural competence trainings in the health care setting. Evidence-based quality improvement (EBQI), which involves adapting evidence-based practices to meet local needs, may improve uptake and effectiveness of a variety of health care innovations. Yet, to our knowledge, EBQI has not yet been applied to cultural competence training.

Binge Eating among Women Veterans in Primary Care: Comorbidities and Treatment Priorities.

Background: Little is known about the clinical profile and treatment priorities of women with binge eating disorder (BED), a diagnosis new to the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. We identified comorbidities and patients' treatment priorities, because these may inform implementation of clinical services.

Methods: Data were collected from women veteran primary care patients.

Mortality in Postmenopausal Women by Sexual Orientation and Veteran Status.

Purpose Of The Study: To examine differences in all-cause and cause-specific mortality by sexual orientation and Veteran status among older women.

Design And Methods: Data were from the Women's Health Initiative, with demographic characteristics, psychosocial factors, and health behaviors assessed at baseline (1993-1998) and mortality status from all available data sources through 2014. Women with baseline information on lifetime sexual behavior and Veteran status were included in the analyses (N = 137,639; 1.

Hysterectomy risk in premenopausal-aged military veterans: associations with sexual assault and gynecologic symptoms.

Background: Several gynecological conditions associated with hysterectomy, including abnormal bleeding and pelvic pain, have been observed at increased rates in women who have experienced sexual assault. Previous findings have suggested that one of the unique health care needs for female military veterans may be an increased prevalence of hysterectomy and that this increase may partially be due to their higher risk of sexual assault history and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although associations between trauma, PTSD, and gynecological symptoms have been identified, little work has been done to date to directly examine the relationship between sexual assault, PTSD, and hysterectomy within the rapidly growing female veteran population.

Lessons from Initiating the First Veterans Health Administration (VA) Women's Health Practice-based Research Network (WH-PBRN) Study.

Background: The Veterans Health Administration (VA) Women's Health Practice-Based Research Network (WH-PBRN) was created to foster innovations for the health care of women veterans. The inaugural study by the WH-PBRN was designed to identify women veterans' own priorities and preferences for mental health services and to inform refinements to WH-PBRN operational procedures. Addressing the latter, this article reports lessons learned from the inaugural study.

Associations between deployment, military rank, and binge drinking in active duty and Reserve/National Guard US servicewomen.

Background: Prior studies of mostly male U.S. service members suggest service characteristics such as deployment with combat exposure and lower rank may be a risk factor for alcohol misuse.