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Office of Health Equity

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Publications and Research

OHE Research Publications

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American Journal of Public Health & Veterans Health Equity Collection Page

In partnership with OHE, the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) is maintaining a collection of AJPH articles and related VA resources that address health disparities among vulnerable Veterans. This effort stems from the VA Health Equity Supplement published by AJPH in August of 2014. That supplement included over twenty articles, comprising editorials and peer reviewed research articles and briefs specific to Health Equity and Veterans. Two articles from this supplement were the highest read papers in 2014. Additionally, four papers were in the Top 20, six papers total in the Top 50, and had 11 of the Top 100 highest read papers. Overall, the supplement issue was the second most-read issue of 2014. As of October, 2015 it was accessed 20,206 times since its release in August 2014. In comparison, the January 2014 AJPH Issue was only accessed 9,000 times in 12 months. The Veterans Health Equity Collection Page is available by visiting: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/topic/vaheathequity.

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 American Journal of Public Health Supplemental Issue 2014

Cover. A US veteran holding the American flag marches in a Chinese New Year parade in Flushing, Queens. According to Tsai et al. in their research article that appears in this collection (pp. S538舑S547), although Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) have been serving in the military for well over 2 centuries, there has been virtually no research on AAPI veterans save for a few studies. Among their findings reported here are that AAPIs are a small, but fast-growing racial/ethnic group within the veteran population, and are more likely to have served in recent conflicts than other veterans.

The Office of Health Equity (OHE) teamed up with the American Journal of Public Health to bring focus to health equity issues on our nation's Veterans through the release of the VA Health Equity Supplement. The Supplement was released online with open access to all on August 6, 2014. The Supplement includes over twenty articles, comprising editorials and peer reviewed research articles and briefs specific to health equity and Veterans. The articles focus on improving the understanding of the root causes of health and health care disparities and reducing/eliminating such disparities among vulnerable Veteran populations. Access full content on the following link: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/104/S4.

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OHE Transgender Veterans Protocol

The purpose of this research protocol and related research is to examine medical and mental health outcomes among Transgender Veterans and identify disparities these Veterans face when seeking VHA care.

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Health Disparities Evidence-based Synthesis Reviews

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VA Health Services Research & Development Publication Briefs

The VA Health Services Research and Development Service (HSR&D) pursues research that underscores all aspects of VA healthcare: patient care, care delivery, health outcomes, cost, and quality.

  • Evidence Review Identifies Modest Mortality Disparities among Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups in VA Healthcare
    To support VA’s efforts to better understand the scale and determinants of disparities in racial and ethnic mortality – and to develop interventions to reduce disparities, investigators from the VA Evidence-based Synthesis Program (ESP) Coordinating Center in Portland, OR conducted an evidence review of mortality disparities specific to VA. Findings showed that although VA’s equal access healthcare system has reduced many racial/ethnic mortality disparities still present in the private sector, modest mortality disparities persist mainly for black Veterans with conditions that include: stage 4 chronic kidney disease, colon cancer, diabetes, HIV, rectal cancer, and stroke (March 1, 2018).

  • Racial/Ethnic and Gender Variations in Veteran Satisfaction with VA Healthcare
    This study of Veterans’ satisfaction with outpatient, inpatient, and specialist care in a diverse sample of Veterans from predominantly minority-serving VAMCs sought to better understand racial/ethnic and gender variations in healthcare satisfaction (March 1, 2018).

  • Medical Care Supplement Features Articles by VA Researchers on Improving the Quality and Equity of Health and Healthcare
    In 2016, HSR&D’s Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP) and the Health Equity and Rural Outreach Innovation Center (HEROIC) hosted a conference to “Engage Diverse Stakeholders and Operational Partners in Advancing Health Equity in the VA Healthcare System.”  It brought together health equity investigators, representatives of vulnerable Veteran populations, and operational leaders to identify strategies to advance the implementation of evidence-based interventions to improve the quality and equity of health and healthcare. The conference focused on three specific vulnerable Veteran populations: racial and ethnic minorities, homeless Veterans, and Veterans from the LGBT community. This supplement features several articles that emanated from this meeting (September 1, 2017).

  • PACT Initiative Did Not Reduce Most Disparities in Improved Hypertension or Diabetes Control among VA Patients
    This study sought to determine whether PACTs helped mitigate national racial/ethnic disparities in VA clinical outcomes, after adjusting for variable implementation and social determinants of health (June 1, 2017).

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External Research and Reports