Health status among 28,000 women veterans. The VA Women's Health Program Evaluation Project.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Male veterans receiving Veterans Health Administration (VA) care have worse health than men in the general population. Less is known about health status in women veteran VA patients, a rapidly growing population.

Objective

To characterize health status of women (vs men) veteran VA patients across age cohorts, and assess gender differences in the effect of social support upon health status.

Design and patients

Data came from the national 1999 Large Health Survey of Veteran Enrollees (response rate 63%) and included 28,048 women and 651,811 men who used VA in the prior 3 years.

Measurements

Dimensions of health status from validated Veterans Short Form-36 instrument; social support (married, living arrangement, have someone to take patient to the docto

SUBMITTER: Frayne SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1513164 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature