Toward Gender Aware VA Healthcare: Development and Evaluation of an Intervention

April 6, 2015 updated by: US Department of Veterans Affairs

Toward Gender Aware VA Health Care: Development and Evaluation of an Intervention

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate an educational program intended to raise staff awareness about women veterans and their health care needs and preferences.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

OBJECTIVES:

The primary objective of this project was to develop and evaluate a computerized program that would enhance Veterans Health Administration (VHA) employees� awareness of women veterans and their health-care needs. The program was designed to challenge negative stereotypes about female patients (gender-role ideology), increase empathy toward female patients� needs (gender sensitivity), and enhance knowledge regarding women veterans and aspects of their VHA care (knowledge).

DESIGN/METHODS:

Phases I involved generating content for the computerized interactive program. Phase II involved creating the 30-minute program. The Phase III evaluation of the program involved a two-group pretest�posttest�follow-up equivalent control group design at two facilities with a third facility comparison group. At the first two facilities, employees who provide either direct or ancillary care to patients were randomly assigned to either the treatment or the control group. Participants in the treatment group completed the program entitled Caring for Women Veterans. Participants in the control group and those at the third site completed a 30-minute program entitled Managing Stress. The data from the third site were included to test for infusion of the treatment effect within same-site groups. Gender awareness was evaluated at three time points using the Gender Awareness Inventory-VA (GAI-VA). Participants completed the GAI-VA several weeks prior to completing the computerized program (Time 1, n =339), immediately after completing the program (Time 2, n = 249), and approximately one month after the program (Time 3, n = 167). Participants also completed a qualitative evaluation of the program at Time 2.

STATUS:

Complete.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

250

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Bedford, Massachusetts, United States, 01730
        • Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02130
        • VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus, Jamaica Plain, MA

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Participants must be VHA employees who have direct or indirect contact with patients.

Exclusion Criteria:

Employees who have no contact with patients.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Arm 1
Behavioral: Caring for Women Veterans

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Gender Awareness is measured during the pre-test, immediately after the educational program, and approximately four weeks after the subject participates in the educational program.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Participants rate their enjoyment of the educational program and offer recommendations for the program as needed.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

US Department of Veterans Affairs

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Dawne S Vogt, PhD BA, VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus, Jamaica Plain, MA
  • Principal Investigator: Lynda A. King, PhD, VA Boston Healthcare System Jamaica Plain Campus, Jamaica Plain, MA

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

May 1, 2004

Study Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2005

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 25, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 7, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 12, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

April 7, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 6, 2015

Last Verified

February 1, 2007

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • GEN 20-057

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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