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. 2022 Jul-Aug;32(4):418-425.
doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2022.01.003. Epub 2022 Mar 8.

Women Veterans' Perspectives on Suicide Prevention in Reproductive Health Care Settings: An Acceptable, Desired, Unmet Opportunity

Claire A Hoffmire  1 , Lisa A Brenner  2 , Jodie Katon  3 , Laurel A Gaeddert  4 , Christin N Miller  4 , Alexandra L Schneider  4 , Lindsey L Monteith  5
Affiliations

Women Veterans' Perspectives on Suicide Prevention in Reproductive Health Care Settings: An Acceptable, Desired, Unmet Opportunity

Claire A Hoffmire et al. Womens Health Issues. 2022 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Background: Women veterans of reproductive age experience a suicide rate more than double their civilian peers. Developing effective suicide prevention strategies for women veterans requires identifying settings frequented by women veterans where acceptable prevention initiatives can be implemented. Reproductive health care (RHC) settings may provide such an opportunity.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 cisgender women veterans of reproductive age using RHC services provided or paid for by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to understand their beliefs, attitudes, and preferences regarding suicide risk assessment and prevention within these settings. Interview analysis was inductive and used a thematic analysis framework.

Results: Four major themes emerged from the interviews: 1) positive patient-provider relationships in RHC settings are important; 2) some women veterans prefer women providers for RHC and suicide risk screening; 3) women veterans' experiences with VA suicide risk screening and assessment vary; and 4) suicide risk screening and prevention in RHC settings is a desired and acceptable, yet unmet opportunity.

Conclusions: Findings from this novel study suggest that VA RHC settings may present a viable milieu for implementing upstream, gender-sensitive, veteran-centric suicide prevention strategies. Future research is needed with VA RHC providers to determine their needs for successfully implementing such strategies.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclaimer

The material presented is based on work supported in part by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Rocky Mountain MIRECC for Suicide Prevention. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policy of the VA or the US Government. Preliminary findings from this study were presented at the 2019 annual conference of the American Association of Suicidology (Denver, CO) and the 2019 International Academy of Suicide Research/American Foundation for Suicide Prevention International Summit on Suicide (Miami Beach, FL).

The authors have no financial or other conflicts of interest to disclose.

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