Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, 950 Campbell Avenue, New Haven, CT 06516, USA.
Womens Health Issues. 2011 Mar-Apr;21(2):124-9. doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2010.11.002.
Although women veterans are seeking care at the Veterans Administration (VA) in record numbers, there is little information regarding women veterans' experiences and preferences for reproductive health care services. We sought to characterize women veterans' experiences with, and preferences for, reproductive health services in the VA.
We conducted five focus groups with a total of 25 participants using a semistructured interview guide to elicit women veterans' experiences and preferences with reproductive health care. Women veterans' utilizing VA health care at two VA facilities who responded to advertisements were selected on a first-come basis to participate in the study. We analyzed transcripts of these audio-recorded sessions using the constant comparative method of grounded theory.
Five main themes emerged from the focus group discussions: 1) Women veterans prefer VA women's clinics for comprehensive medical care; 2) Women veterans have had both positive and negative reproductive health experiences in the VA; 3) Women veterans experience knowledge gaps regarding VA coverage for reproductive health services; 4) Women veterans believe the VA should provide additional coverage for advanced infertility care and for newborns; and 5) Perceived gender discrimination shapes how women veterans view the VA.
As the VA continues to tailor its services to women veterans, attention should be given to women's reproductive health care needs.
尽管女性退伍军人到退伍军人管理局（VA）寻求医疗服务的人数创历史新高，但关于女性退伍军人的生殖健康护理服务的体验和偏好的信息却很少。我们试图描述女性退伍军人在退伍军人管理局获得生殖健康服务的体验和偏好。
我们使用半结构化访谈指南进行了五组焦点小组讨论，共 25 名参与者。这些女性退伍军人在两个退伍军人管理局医疗机构中使用 VA 医疗保健服务，她们根据广告报名参加研究。我们使用扎根理论的恒定性比较方法分析了这些音频记录会议的记录。
焦点小组讨论产生了五个主要主题：1）女性退伍军人喜欢 VA 女性诊所提供的综合医疗服务；2）女性退伍军人在退伍军人管理局有过积极和消极的生殖健康体验；3）女性退伍军人对退伍军人管理局生殖健康服务覆盖范围存在知识差距；4）女性退伍军人认为退伍军人管理局应提供更多的高级不孕治疗和新生儿护理覆盖范围；5）感知到的性别歧视影响了女性退伍军人对退伍军人管理局的看法。
随着退伍军人管理局继续为女性退伍军人定制服务，应关注女性的生殖健康护理需求。
