Partnerships for Research & Care of Women Veterans: 

Building the Evidence Base for Clinical and Policy Action 

VA Health Services Research & Development (HSR&D) Service, Women’s Health Services in the VHA Office of Patient Care 

Services and the VA Women’s Health Research Network are co-hosting a National VA HSR&D Conference on Enhancing 

Partnerships for Research and Care of Women Veterans, to be held in July 31 - August 1, 2014 in the Washington DC area. 

The Conference will bring together VA health services researchers, healthcare providers, clinical managers, policymakers and other 

stakeholders to present, review and collaboratively discuss research that informs improvements in healthcare access, quality, costs, 

patient-centeredness and outcomes for Women Veterans. 

The goals of the Conference are: 

1 To promote and disseminate new knowledge on VA women’s health research and the implementation of research into 

practice through effective presentation of high quality research results; 

2 To foster effective partnerships among VA researchers and leaders in VA policy, operations and clinical care capable of 

increasing the impact of VA women’s health research on system performance; 

3 To facilitate, expand and enhance the effectiveness of conducting VA women’s health research through the VA Women’s 

Health Research Network; 

4 To provide training and demonstration on best practices in VA women’s health research (e.g., recruitment of women 

Veterans, advancing partnered implementation research) through brainstorming, skills training and problem solving. 

In addition to full group sessions that lay out the state of scientific knowledge of VA women’s health research and VA priorities for 

research, a series of breakout sessions will be used to foster collaboration among attendees of diverse backgrounds to tackle 

knowledge gaps, target training and collaboration in essential topical areas and design improved methods that recognize the needs 

of key stakeholders (including women Veterans, VA providers, VISN representatives and VHA policy and operations leaders) to 

target persistent gaps in research and ensure that research over the course of the next 3-5 years maps to VA priorities. 

We invite submission of scientific abstracts for presentation that fit into one or more of the following strategic priority areas: 

 Access to care and rural health 

 Primary care and prevention 

 Mental health 

 Health concerns associated with military deployment

 Complex chronic conditions and/or aging/long-term care

 Reproductive health

We are also interested in abstracts that describe research and/or quality improvement initiatives that are cross-cutting (i.e., span 

multiple strategic priority areas), address the needs or improvement of care for sub-populations of women Veterans (e.g., homeless, 

LGBT), or identify and address health equity/disparities for women Veterans. Abstracts that describe unique data sources or 

methodological approaches advancing VA women’s health research will also be considered. We are also particularly interested in 

abstracts that address intervention and/or implementation research and steps towards transformation of VA women’s health care, 

especially in relation to priority areas, such as comprehensive care delivery and healthcare innovations that target women’s needs. 

We welcome abstract submissions that focus on research among women in active duty and the Reserves and/or National Guard. 

Attendance is encouraged not only by researchers whose career focus is women’s health, but also by investigators with 

other research foci who have examined gender issues as an essential component of their work. Attendance will be limited. 

Abstracts are due by 5:00 pm Pacific Time on March 14, 2014 
Peer-Reviewed Scientific Presentations 

Selected abstracts will be presented either as oral presentations or posters. Investigators submitting abstracts will be asked to 

indicate their preference for presentation format, but final decisions will be made by the Review Committee. 

ORAL PRESENTATIONS 

Oral presentation sessions will be collections of 4-5 related research 

presentations. Each presenter will be allotted approximately 10 minutes 

for his/her presentation and an additional 5 minutes for a question-andanswer exchange with the audience 

POSTER SESSION 

The poster session will be a display consisting of an exhibit of material 

personally accompanied by the author for an assigned period of time 

during the Conference. The displays are expected to report results of 

current research and/or quality improvement initiatives that may be readily 

summarized in narrative and graphic form (e.g., tables, graphs, pictures). 

Presenters must be prepared to describe their findings and address 

questions from a diverse audience of scientific and non-scientific 

attendees. 

Invited Panels and Workshops 

The Conference will include invited panels of VA policy, operations and 

research leaders, as well as plenary or other sessions presenting 

overviews of the state of women Veterans’ research, including seminal 

study highlights. Methodological sessions are planned to focus on skillbuilding and research development exercises. 

Break-out Sessions 

We will hold facilitated break-out sessions related to meeting themes to 

translate the current and emerging knowledge base and evidence into 

testable interventions for improving health care and outcomes for Women 

Veterans and to enhance research-clinical-policy partnerships that foster 

adoption, implementation, spread and sustainability of evidence-based 

practice and policy. Using the research presentations as a starting point, 

conference participants involved in programs, policy, clinical practice, and 

research addressing Women Veterans will strategize about ways to use 

VA research to transform care for Women Veterans. 

Travel funds will be made available for only one VA employee 

presenter per accepted abstract. Because attendance is limited, only 

those with accepted abstracts and selected invitees will be 

guaranteed registration for this meeting. Additional attendees will be 

considered as space permits. 

Abstracts are due March 14, 

2014 and authors will be 

notified of decisions by April 

18, 2014. 

Abstracts should be no longer than 350 words. 

Abstracts will be evaluated by expert reviewers 

blinded to authors' identities. Top-scoring 

abstracts with greatest relevance to the 

conference topical and cross-cutting areas will 

be selected. All abstract acceptance/rejection 

decisions will be made by the Review 

Committee and will be final. Selection criteria 

will include abstract quality, timeliness, and 

relevance to the conference objectives, 

research areas and VA mission. 

To submit an abstract, complete the 

attached submission form, and click on 

submit by email. 

If you have questions or problems 

submitting an abstract, please contact Ruth 

Klap, PhD by phone at (818) 891-7711, ext. 

5731 at the Sepulveda VA or by email at 

VHAGLAWHRESEARCH@va.gov.

Individuals currently affiliated with a VA 

postdoctoral program, fellowship, or trainee 

position or those who have completed their 

programs in the past year and who have an 

abstract that is accepted for presentation at the 

meeting will be eligible for a Best Trainee 

Poster award. 

Abstracts must be submitted by close of 

business (5:00pm Pacific time) on February 

28, 2014. 

Authors will be notified of 

abstract review decisions by 

Friday, April 18th, 2014 to 

ensure ample time for 

preparation of Conference 

presentations