title: Systematic review of women veterans' mental health.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Given recent, rapid growth in the field of women veterans' mental health, the goal of this review was to update the status of women veterans' mental health research and to identify current themes in this literature. The scope of this review included women veterans' unique mental health needs, as well as gender differences in veterans' mental health needs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Database searches were conducted for relevant articles published between January 2008 and July 2011. Searches were supplemented with bibliographic reviews and consultation with subject matter experts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The database search yielded 375 titles; 32 met inclusion/exclusion criteria. The women veterans' mental health literature crosses over several domains, including prevalence, risk factors, health care utilization, treatment preferences, and access barriers. Studies were generally cross-sectional, descriptive, mixed-gender, and examined Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care users from all service eras. Results indicate higher rates of specific disorders (e.g., depression) and comorbidities, with differing risk factors and associated medical and functional impairment for female compared with male veterans. Although satisfaction with VA health care is generally high, unique barriers to care and indices of treatment satisfaction exist for women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a breadth of descriptive knowledge in many content areas of women veterans' mental health; however, the research base examining interventional and longitudinal designs is less developed. Understudied content areas and targets for future research and development include certain psychiatric disorders (e.g., schizophrenia), the effects of deployment on woman veterans' families, and strategies to address treatment access, attrition, and provision of gender-sensitive care.
authors.affiliation: VISN 6 Mental Illness Research, Education, Clinical Center (MIRECC), Durham, North Carolina; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina. Electronic address: Jennifer.Runnals@va.gov.
authors.forename: Jennifer J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Runnals
authors.affiliation: Women's Prevention, Outreach and Education Center, VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, Palo Alto, California; Department of Veterans Affairs, Mental Health Services, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Natara
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Garovoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs, Mental Health Services, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Susan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: McCutcheon
authors.affiliation: VISN 6 Mental Illness Research, Education, Clinical Center (MIRECC), Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Allison T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Robbins
authors.affiliation: VISN 6 Mental Illness Research, Education, Clinical Center (MIRECC), Durham, North Carolina; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Monica C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Mann-Wrobel
authors.affiliation: VISN 6 Mental Illness Research, Education, Clinical Center (MIRECC), Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Alyssa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elliott
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D058014:Veterans Health; D016387:Women's Health