title: Contraceptive care in the VA health care system.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about contraceptive care within the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of documented contraception by race/ethnicity within the VA and to examine the association between receiving primary care in women's health clinics (WHCs) and having a documented contraceptive method.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined national VA administrative and pharmacy data for 103,950 female veterans aged 18-45 years who made at least one primary care clinic visit in 2008. Multivariable regression models were used to examine the associations between race/ethnicity and receipt of care in a WHC with having a method of contraception while controlling for confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only 22% of women veterans had a documented method of contraception during 2008. After adjusting for potential confounders, Hispanic and African-American women were significantly less likely to have a method compared to whites [odds ratio (OR): 0.82; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.76-0.88 and OR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.81-0.89, respectively]. Women who went to WHCs were significantly more likely to have a method of contraception compared to women who went to traditional primary care clinics (OR: 2.05; 95% CI: 1.97-2.14).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall contraceptive prevalence in the VA is low, but receiving care in a WHC is associated with a significantly higher likelihood of having a contraceptive method.
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Equity, Research, and Promotion, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, PA 15206, USA. borrerosp@upmc.edu
authors.forename: Sonya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Borrero
authors.forename: Maria K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Mor
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McNeil
authors.forename: Said
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hayes
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D003267:Contraception / Q000379:methods; D003271:Contraceptive Agents, Female; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D058014:Veterans Health; D044465:White People; D016387:Women's Health
chemical_list: D003271:Contraceptive Agents, Female