Health Services Research on Women Veterans: A Critical Partner on the Road to Patient-Centered Care

S ince the lifting of the Congressional legislative cap on women's military participation in 1973, women have had an increasing role in the U.S. military and thus become a growing part of our Veteran population.The pace of that growth, however, was accelerated dramatically by the events of 9/11 and the subsequent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.The challenge facing the healthcare system-how to adjust quickly to the needs of this new patient population-was mirrored in that facing Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) research-how do we build research capacity so we can answer the critical questions for the growing segment of our population who are women?Ten years after the start of the Iraq War, both the delivery of women's health care and the conduct of research on women's health have come a long way in the VA.The number of women seeking care in the VA has doubled in the past decade, while the number of researchers addressing women's health has climbed from 15 in the 1990s to over 200 today.This supplement, our third on women Veterans' health research, is testament to the high quality of work catalyzed by those early efforts.Now is an opportune time to consider what enabled clinical and research success in VA women's health and to reflect on the challenges and unanswered questions that still await us.None of this success would have been possible without the support from the highest levels in VA and the passionate leadership of the individuals who took the lead for clinical operations and research.Dr. Patricia Hayes, the Chief Consultant of VA Women's Health Services and Dr. Elizabeth (Becky) Yano, the champion for women's health research in VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D), early on recognized the value of a strong partnership between the clinical and research programs, and women's health research is now a high-level priority in the strategic plans of both offices.In addition, the combination of committed individuals and connected networks can greatly accelerate