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VA Health Care for Women
There is a total of approximately 21.8 millions veterans living in the United States 10 percent of the 21.8 million are women. Out of the 10% or 2.18 million women less and less are using the VA as their primary health care provider for a number of reasons. April 2015 the Department of Veterans Affairs conducted a study of the Barriers to VA Health Care for women the results produced 9 different barriers ranging from Comprehension of Eligibility Requirement and Scope of Services to Safety and Comfort (users only).

Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to determine the reasons why there has been a decline in women utilizing the VA as their primary health care provider over the years. The study also gave incite as to the reasons why women veterans felt that the VA healthcare system was not effective for them and their lifestyles. As of April 2015 the DAV showed the highest number of female service members in history projecting for the growth of not only active duty service members but soon to be veterans as well. According to the VA Women's Veterans Task Force 14 percent of the Active Duty component and 18 percent of the Reserves are made up of women, although the growth has only been about 2 percent from the 1950's the VA notices that they are not equipped to handle the extensive needs of women veterans.

Approach
The DAV contracted with Altarum Institute to conduct surveys among women veterans the that was conducted mostly via telephone the call was lengthy dependent on the survey participants responses. The study was comprised of the following areas:

· In order to be responsive to the legislation requirements, the survey addressed the following barriers (ordered as listed in the Public Law):

· The perceived stigma associated with seeking mental health care services

· The effect of driving distance or availability of other forms of transportation to the nearest medical facility on access to care

· The availability of childcare while using VA services

· The acceptability of integrated primary care, women’s health clinics or both

· The comprehension of eligibility requirements for, and the scope of services available under hospital care and medical services

· The perception of personal safety and comfort in inpatient, outpatient and behavioral health facilities

· The gender sensitivity of health care providers and staff to issues that particularly affect women

· The effectiveness of outreach for health care services to women Veterans

· The location and operating hours of health care facilities that provides services to women Veterans

Findings
After the survey was conducted there were a total of nine areas that needed to be addressed and improved in order for the VA to provide better healthcare for women. As addressed in the final report the 9 barriers are the following:
 * Barrier 1: Comprehension of Eligibility Requirement and Scope of Services. Although the report was a positive number of women that reported they had received information regarding their VA services there was a small percent that felt they had not gotten enough information. Information was distributed in various ways from brochures, telephone, electronic mail, postal mail and the internet. Most preferred postal mail on the initial communication and opted for electronic mail for future communication. However depending on the functioning level of each veteran some still chose telephone as their primary source of communication. It was also addressed that women felt they needed to be briefed on the VA services prior to their EOS (End of Service) date as well as a continual reminders post EOS.
 * Barrier 2: effective Outreach Specifically addressing Women's Health Services. The outreach to women veterans is far below satisfactory. The percent of women that have received information regarding women's VA healthcare is significantly lower that the number of women's that received information regarding VA healthcare services at all.
 * Barrier 3: Effect of Driving Distance on Access to Care. This barrier tends to be one of the lower concerns as most women reported that finding transportation to receive health care was not a problem for them. There is a small percent that did report they had difficulties finding transportation however those that reported this difficulty were rated in the top percentage of disability ratings set forth by the DAV (Department of Veteran Affairs). Most reported they had no problems as they could provide their own transportation, a small group relied on family and friends and the smallest number being around 5% found it very difficult to use VA healthcare services due to transportation and location or distance to the nearest facility.
 * Barrier 4: Location and Hours. There was a staggering number of women that reported they do not use the VA healthcare system nearest to them because the facility near them is not able to handle the level of care they are looking for. The same women reported they did have an issue with obtaining appointments for primary healthcare but specialty healthcare like mental healthcare were not an issue which causes an issue as primary care visits are typically on a more impromptu basis. Those women that are able to obtain appointments with ease were more likely to use the VA healthcare system on a regular basis. The VA reports that early morning appointments are the most desirable as the day progresses there always tends to be delays which push appointment times far beyond their set limits. The communication regarding appointment times is an area that needs great attention, although there is appointments available the communication regarding that appointment needs to be handled effectively and if it is not it will result in more and more women turning to outside sources to obtain effective healthcare.
 * Barrier 5: Childcare. More than 50% of women reported that it is difficult to obtain proper child care to make their scheduled appointments. Those women that are not married, widowed or divorced reported far more difficulties finding childcare in order to make their appointments. The over 50% of women that saw childcare as a problem reported they would be more likely to use a VA facility if there was childcare available to them at the facility they were visiting.
 * Barrier 6: Acceptability of Integrated Care. This portion of the survey was directly correlated with single gender clinics as their Primary Comprehensive healthcare provider. The majority of women felt it was extremely important to have women only clinics for their comprehensive healthcare provider. There was a higher demand for those women that have been the victim of some sort of sexual threat, harassment or force. Although many agreed that there should be women only clinics they did not feel that it was important to have women only providers as some prefer women doctors and others prefer men. If only women providers were approved for comprehensive healthcare providers it may pose a bit of a shortage in availability, appointments and even the standards of care they receive.
 * Barrier 7: Gender Sensitivity (users only). The VA is undoubtedly seeing the increase in women both active duty, reserves, retirees and veterans and are fully aware that they must keep up with the ever changing times and oblige when it comes to the needs of women's healthcare . Although the VA is constantly looking to always improve their care system number show that as veterans get older they are more and more satisfied with the level of care that they receive, however, the higher disability rating provided to each veteran by the DAV is showing a decline in the level of care they receive. The majority of women reported they were satisfied with the level of care they were given via their primary care physician it was the support staff that they were not satisfied with. Women veterans reported they felt their disability rating did play a factor in the service that they were provided by the office staff.
 * Barrier 8: Mental Health Stigma. With outstanding numbers women Veterans report higher levels of depression, PTSD and TBI (traumatic brain injury) even with the higher numbers reported women were still hesitant on seeking mental health services through the VA. There were many reasons reported as to why women did not want to receive mental health care top reason was because of the medications prescribed for treatment, other reasons included effects it may have in their professional life, the judgment of others, sought religious or spiritual counseling, doubt in care, self-doubt and the effects it may have on personal relationships. Among all the reasons there was a large number of women that were victims of unwanted sexual attention or trauma and did not feel comfortable in expressing themselves in what has been a predominately male ran facility.
 * Barrier 9: Safety and Comfort. (Users only) The majority of women answered positively for the safety and comfort in VA facilities. Although this may seem like a positive barrier these numbers are on a small decline from previous reports. Statistics show that women that visited the VA in earlier eras tend to have a better relationship with the VA than those of current years. The survey among those with lower disability ratings showed a definite increase in the safety and comfort within the VA healthcare where as the higher the rating the numbers began to plummet. The rise of discomfort and safety for the women that have been victims of unwanted sexual attention, threat or force continues to grow which is expected in any type of facility. With small numbers reported from an inpatient stand point over the last 2 years patients reported a higher number of discomfort and safety within the facility. There were a number of concerns with the inpatient operations for women number one being the ability to secure entry into their room during the night followed closely by not having access to private restroom facilities.

Information gathering
These nine barriers were compiled from a variety of sources including surveys, data sources and sampling, questionnaire development, content, and testing, fielding, statistical analysis of results, comparison to the National Survey of Women Veterans.