Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
An official website of the United States government
In 2004, the VA Office of Research & Development held the first national VA Women's Health Research agenda-setting conference. The conference was created to align VA research priorities with health-related needs of women Veterans. At that time, VA ORD also commissioned a systematic literature review to synthesize the research knowledge on women Veterans' health issues through 2004. Subsequently, an updated systematic review of the literature was conducted for 2004-2008, and again for 2008-2011. Periodic reviews and updates will be conducted on an ongoing basis.
Articles were identified by searching multiple scientific databases, and supplemented through direct contact with Department of Defense and VA field experts. Articles were considered for inclusion if the study related to U.S. Veterans or military personnel, and met at least one of the following three criteria: (a) included women Veterans, compared men and women, or analyzed women separately; (b) involved active duty military women and a health condition or functional status that requires medical attention; or (c) were relevant to VA women's healthcare or how VA care is delivered to women.
Articles were classified according to subject category and summarized into structured abstracts and evidence tables—structured abstracts are downloaded to the database for every study included. If an abstract is not attached, most articles can be found using the National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine PubMed search tool.
If you have specific comments or feedback, please feel free to send it here. (If your comment is about a specific citation, please identify the articles you think should be indexed.)
