Patterns and Experiences of VA Maternity Care Coordination for Women Veterans

描述(由申请人提供)： 摘要在过去的十年中，使用VHA护理的女性退伍军人人数几乎翻了一番。这些女退伍军人中有相当一部分处于生育年龄，其中90%以上的持久自由行动(OEF)、伊拉克自由行动(OIF)和新黎明行动(OND)女退伍军人的年龄在45岁或以下。最近的证据表明，在过去五年中，使用VHA产假福利接生的退伍军人人数几乎翻了一番，但关于这些妇女如何获得和利用产假护理的信息很少。这些怀孕的退伍军人可能面临着孕产妇和儿童健康状况不佳的风险，因为他们在怀孕期间可能会经历复杂的医疗和心理健康问题。因此，将产妇护理与对怀孕退伍军人的持续VHA护理相结合是至关重要的。这项研究的直接目的是通过描述退伍军人医院之间的产妇护理协调的特点，向关于协调女退伍军人产妇护理的最佳方式的相当大的辩论提供信息。这项工作的长期目标是通过持续设计、评估和改进产妇护理的提供和协调，促进为女退伍军人提供高质量的产妇护理。该项目是VHA系统检查怀孕退伍军人的产妇护理协调情况的第一次尝试。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Abstract Over the past decade, the number of women Veterans using VHA care has nearly doubled. A substantial proportion of these women Veterans are of reproductive age, with over 90% of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), and Operation New Dawn (OND) women Veterans age 45 or less. Recent evidence suggests the number of women Veterans delivering babies using VHA maternity benefits has nearly doubled in the past five years, and yet little information exists regarding how these women access and utilize maternity care. These pregnant Veterans may be at risk for poor maternal and child health outcomes as a result of complex medical and mental health problems they may be experiencing during their pregnancies. Therefore, coordinating maternity care with ongoing VHA care for pregnant Veterans is crucial. The immediate objective of this study is to inform the considerable debate about the best ways to coordinate maternity care for women veterans by characterizing maternity care coordination across VA facilities. The long-term objective of this work is to promote high-quality maternity care for women veterans through ongoing design, evaluation, and improvement of maternity care delivery and coordination. This project represents the first attempt in the VHA to systematically examine maternity care coordination for pregnant Veterans.