Emergency Department Use Among Women Veterans: Patterns and Factors Associated With VA and Community Care

By
Jessica Faiz
Christopher J. Carvalho
Tracy Urech
Siqi Wu
Jessica Y. Breland
Susan M. Frayne
Donna L. Washington
Kristina M. Cordasco
Anita A. Vashi
October 7, 2026

Journal Of General Internal Medicine

Overview

This retrospective cohort study examined VA versus community emergency department (ED) use among VA-enrolled Veterans with at least one ED visit in fiscal year 2023. The supplied article excerpt describes the study design and rationale but does not provide its results; related web context reports that about 60% of women Veterans’ ED visits occurred at VA sites.

Background

Women Veterans are a growing share of the Veteran population, and the number receiving Veterans Health Administration care nearly doubled during the decade preceding the study. Their healthcare needs include gynecologic, medical, and mental health services, while evidence describing their emergency care use across VA and community settings has been limited. The 2018 MISSION Act expanded opportunities to receive care outside VA, and in 2019, 44% of women Veteran VA healthcare users accessed both VA and community services. The study was designed to characterize emergency care patterns and compare VA and community ED use among women and men Veterans.

Data Highlights

Measure	Finding or study detail
Study period and design	Retrospective cohort; fiscal year 2023
Eligibility	VA-enrolled Veterans with at least one VA or Community Care ED visit
Exclusions	Patients younger than 18 or older than 110 years, and encounters without a primary diagnosis code
Women’s ED visits at VA sites	About 60%, as reported in the supplied web research context
Women Veteran VA healthcare users accessing both VA and community services	44% in 2019, as reported in the article background

Key Findings

The study evaluated the odds of presenting to a VA rather than community ED among VA-enrolled Veterans with an ED visit in FY2023.
Investigators identified frequent ED diagnoses in both VA and community settings and compared utilization by Veteran sex.
Among women Veterans, the analysis was designed to assess factors associated with VA versus community ED presentation.
Patient-level measures included demographics, comorbidities, serious mental illness, housing instability, military service characteristics, VA enrollment priority, and service-connected disability rating.
Primary care access was represented by the number of in-person and virtual primary care encounters during the preceding 12 months; travel time to the nearest VA ED or urgent care center was also measured.
The supplied web research context reports that about 60% of ED visits by women Veterans occurred at VA sites; the provided article excerpt does not include the study’s detailed results or adjusted associations.

Clinical Implications

The study’s stated purpose is to inform understanding of how women Veterans use VA and community emergency care, including factors associated with care setting. The supplied excerpt does not provide detailed results sufficient to support specific clinical recommendations or conclusions about which factors were associated with VA versus community ED use.

Conclusion

The FY2023 cohort study addresses a gap in evidence on emergency care use among women Veterans across VA and community settings. Detailed findings are not included in the supplied article excerpt, so conclusions beyond the reported study design and contextual figures cannot be drawn here.