Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Readying the workforce: evaluation of VHA's comprehensive women's health primary care provider initiative.

Maisel NC, Haskell S, Hayes PM, Balasubramanian V, Torgal A, Ananth L, Saechao F, Iqbal S, Phibbs CS, Frayne SM. Readying the workforce: evaluation of VHA's comprehensive women's health primary care provider initiative. Medical care. 2015 Apr 1; 53(4 Suppl 1):S39-46.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Veterans Health Administration (VHA) primary care providers (PCPs) often see few women, making it challenging to maintain proficiency in women's health (WH). Therefore, VHA in 2010 established Designated WH Providers, who would maintain proficiency in comprehensive WH care and be preferentially assigned women patients. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate early implementation of this national policy. METHODS: At each VHA health care system (N = 140), the Women Veterans Program Manager completed a Fiscal Year 2012 workforce capacity assessment (response rate, 100%), representing the first time the national Designated WH Provider workforce had been identified. Assessment data were linked to administrative data. RESULTS: Of all VHA PCPs, 23% were Designated WH Providers; 100% of health care systems and 83% of community clinics had at least 1 Designated WH Provider. On average, women veterans comprised 19% (SD = 27%) of the patients Designated WH Providers saw in primary care, versus 5% (SD = 7%) for Other PCPs (P < 0.001). For women veterans using primary care (N = 313,033), new patients were less likely to see a Designated WH Provider than established women veteran patients (52% vs. 64%; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: VHA has achieved its goal of a Designated WH Provider in every health care system, and is approaching its goal of a Designated WH Provider at every hospital/community clinic. Designated WH Providers see more women than do Other PCPs. However, as the volume of women patients remains low for many providers, attention to alternative approaches to maintaining proficiency may prove necessary, and barriers to assigning new women patients to Designated WH Providers merit attention.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.