Investigators from HSR’s Women’s Health Research Network (WHRN) and federal partners presented at a standing-room-only Disabled American Veterans lunch-and-learn held February 27 on Capitol Hill. The event focused on the mental health of women Veterans—the fastest growing segment of the Veteran population, whose age-adjusted suicide rate in 2021 was 166% higher than that of non-Veteran U.S. women.[1]
The event’s attendees included members of Congress, leaders from the Office of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and Carolyn Clancy, MD, Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Discovery, Education & Affiliate Networks (DEAN). VA and HSR presenters spoke about some of the ways that VA is helping women Veterans and the work that remains to be done, and included Susan Strickland, PhD, LCSW, VA Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention; Elizabeth Yano, PhD, MSPH, Director of WHRN and HSR’s Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation and Policy (CSHIIP); and Lindsey Monteith, PhD, Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center for Suicide Prevention.
The meeting featured a recent report from the Disabled American Veterans group, which assessed the factors that contribute to suicide among women Veterans, and how VA healthcare could enhance suicide prevention efforts. The report and resulting lunch-and-learn made the news on Military.com and in Military Times, which included some of Dr. Yano's remarks at the event.
“There’s a lot of research underway on barrier reduction, better understanding how women Veterans use the Veterans Crisis Line, how they may use it differently, and their experiences,” Dr. Yano said. “We need to better understand what leads women Veterans to suicide, the gender differences in suicidal thoughts and attempts, what they experienced when they enter care, how hard it is to get care, and how to eliminate those barriers.”
[1] Women Veterans - Suicide Prevention Annual Report (va.gov)
