ArticleJournal of general internal medicine2022
Gynecologist Supply Deserts Across the VA and in the Community.
Article in Journal of general internal medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- An Evidence Map of the Women Veterans' Health Literature, 2016 to 2023: A Systematic Review.JAMA network open · 2025Pooled it
- Availability of Women's Health Clinics, Primary Care Providers, and Women Veterans' Ratings of Care Experiences.Journal of general internal medicine · 2025Article
- Experiences Receiving and Delivering Virtual Health Care For Women: Qualitative Evidence Synthesis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Reproductive Health Care and Outcomes Among Female Veterans: A Scoping Review.Health equity · 2025Review
- Abortion After Pregnancy Occurrence with Contraceptive Use Among Veterans.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2025Article
- Postpartum depressive symptom severity among child-bearing Veterans: Examining contributions of environmental indices.Rural mental health · 2025Article
- Tackling Cardiovascular Care Deserts in Romania: Expanding Population Access in Underserved Areas.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Looking Back, Moving Forward: Challenges and Opportunities for Global Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control.Viruses · 2024Review
- Defining medical deserts-an international consensus-building exercise.European journal of public health · 2023Article
- Variations in Provision of Long-Acting Reversible Contraception Across Veterans Health Administration Facilities.Journal of general internal medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Veterans Health Administration (VA) refers patients to community providers for specialty services not available on-site. However, community-level specialist shortages may impede access to care.
objectiveCompare gynecologist supply in veterans' county of residence versus at their VA site.
designWe identified women veteran VA patients from fiscal year (FY) 2017 administrative data and assessed availability of a VA gynecologist within 50 miles (hereafter called "local") of veterans' VA homesites (per national VA organizational survey data). For the same cohort, we then assessed community-level gynecologist availability; counties with < 2 gynecologists/10,000 women (per the Area Health Resource File) were "inadequate-supply" counties. We examined the proportion of women veterans with local VA gynecologist availability in counties with inadequate versus adequate gynecologist supply, stratified by individual and VA homesite characteristics. Chi-square tests assessed statistical differences.
participantsAll women veteran FY2017 VA primary care users nationally. MAIN MEASURES: Availability of a VA gynecologist within 50 miles of a veteran's VA homesite; county-level "inadequate-supply" of gynecologists. KEY
resultsAmong 407,482 women, 9% were in gynecologist supply deserts (i.e., lacking local VA gynecologist and living in an inadequate-supply county). The sub-populations with the highest proportions in gynecologist supply deserts were rural residents (24%), those who got their primary care at non-VAMC satellite clinics (13%), those who got their care at a site without a women's clinic (13%), and those with American Indian or Alaska Native (12%), or white (12%) race. Among those in inadequate-supply counties, 59.9% had gynecologists at their local VA; however, 40.1% lacked a local VA gynecologist.
conclusionsMost veterans living in inadequate-supply counties had local VA gynecology care, reflecting VA's critical role as a safety net provider. However, for those in gynecologist supply deserts, expanded transportation options, modified staffing models, or tele-gynecology hubs may offer solutions to extend VA gynecology capacity.
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