VA Greater Los Angeles Health Services Research & Development Center of Excellence, Sepulveda, California 91343, USA.
Womens Health Issues. 2011 Jul-Aug;21(4 Suppl):S84-97. doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2011.04.022.
We assessed the state of women veterans' health research by conducting a systematic review of scientific literature published from 2004 to 2008, updating a prior review spanning the history of this literature to 2004.
We identified articles by searching scientific databases and contacting experts. Relevant articles were independently evaluated by two physician reviewers. We categorized 195 articles by study design, funding source, period of military service, research topic, and health condition.
More research was published during this 5-year review (n = 195) than in the 25 years beforehand (n = 182). The 195 studies included five trials, but only one randomized trial, a study that examined treatment outcomes for women with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The large number of articles focused on Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) soldiers' health issues (n = 23) reflects the growing participation of women in these conflicts. High rates of positive PTSD symptoms (range, 10%-19%) and other mental health disorders were found among OEF/OIF returning military women. The recent post-deployment literature underscores the need for repeated PTSD/mental health screening in returning veterans, and points to continuity of care needs for psychiatric and gynecological problems which occur in the field. The psychiatric and access/utilization literature confirmed the positive relationship between military sexual trauma and PTSD and the associated negative health effects.
Although most VA women's health research remains observational, methods are evolving toward an analytical focus. Even though successes are evident in the breadth and depth of publications, remaining gaps in the literature include post-deployment readjustment for veterans/families, and quality-of-care interventions/outcomes for physical and mental conditions.
通过对 2004 年至 2008 年发表的科学文献进行系统评价，更新 2004 年前涵盖该文献历史的先前综述，评估女退役军人健康研究的现状。
我们通过搜索科学数据库和联系专家来确定文章。两位医生评审员独立评估了相关文章。我们根据研究设计、资金来源、兵役期、研究主题和健康状况对 195 篇文章进行了分类。
与 25 年前（n = 182）相比，这 5 年的综述发表了更多的研究（n = 195）。这 195 项研究包括 5 项试验，但只有一项是随机试验，该试验研究了创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）女性的治疗结果。大量的文章集中在持久自由行动和伊拉克自由行动（OEF/OIF）士兵的健康问题上（n = 23），这反映了女性在这些冲突中日益增加的参与。在返回的 OEF/OIF 军人女性中，发现 PTSD 症状（范围为 10%-19%）和其他心理健康障碍的发生率很高。最近的部署后文献强调了在返回的退伍军人中需要反复进行 PTSD/心理健康筛查，并指出了在现场出现的精神科和妇科问题的连续性护理需求。精神科和获取/利用文献证实了军事性创伤与 PTSD 之间的积极关系以及相关的健康负面影响。
尽管 VA 女性健康研究大多仍然是观察性的，但方法正在向分析性焦点发展。尽管在出版物的广度和深度方面取得了明显的成功，但文献中仍然存在一些空白，包括退伍军人/家庭的部署后调整，以及身体和心理健康状况的护理质量干预措施/结果。
