Visualizations and Dashboards
National Veteran Health Equity Report - FY13

This Information Brief highlights research by Dr. Donna Washington and her colleagues at the Health Equity-QUERI National Partnered Evaluation Center on rates of non-communicable diseases – high blood pressure, diabetes, and abnormal cholesterol levels that have lifestyle related risk factors, such as physical inactivity and food choices. The Information Brief also highlights The Battle Creek VA Medical Center Healthier Living with Chronic Conditions (HLCC) workshop series helps to build Veterans’ confidence to self-manage their chronic medical conditions and the San Francisco VA Health Care System’s Strength and Wellness Program and its collaboration with the San Francisco YMCA Association to create a community-based fitness program for Veteran patients.
This Information Brief highlights research by Dr. Donna Washington and her colleagues at the Health Equity-QUERI National Partnered Evaluation Center on rates of heart disease in African American Women Veterans. The Information Brief also highlights videos of Veterans discussing their experiences with high blood pressure offering tips on taking medications, talking to health care providers, and making other healthy behavior changes and the long-standing national partnership between VA and the American Heart Association to bring awareness and knowledge about heart disease and stroke.
This Information Brief highlights research by Dr. Donna Washington and her colleagues at the Health Equity-QUERI National Partnered Evaluation Center on rates of mental health conditions amongst American Indian/Alaska Native Veterans. The Information Brief also highlights the importance of Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs), which deliver primary care through an integrated, team-based approach, in managing care and addressing social determinants of health and mental health conditions, especially for American Indian/Alaska Native Veterans.
This Information Brief highlights research by Dr. Donna Washington and her colleagues at the Health Equity-QUERI National Partnered Evaluation Center on rates of diabetes amongst Hispanic Veterans. The Information Brief also highlights the OHE-supported project with VA Heart of Texas Health Care Network (VISN 17) that developed and delivered a culturally sensitive MOVE! curriculum aimed to address the specific needs of Hispanic Veterans with diabetes in Texas.
VHA's Office of Health Equity is pleased to partner with the VA Center for Minority Veterans for April’s session in observation of National Minority Health Month. April’s Focus on Health Equity and Action Cyberseminar session spotlights the recently released "Minority Veterans Report: Military Service History and VA Benefit Utilization Statistics" report from the VA Data Governance and Analytics office. This new report increases our understanding of racial and ethnic minority Veterans, their use of VA benefits and services, as well as the impact of military service on their lives post-military. April’s session will: 1) discuss the new report and the role of social and economic determinants of health; 2) highlight VA actions to advance health equity for minority Veterans; and 3) explore additional ways to best to serve these American heroes.
Complete, reliable, and consistent measurement of racial and ethnic background in healthcare is critical for valid health equity and disparity studies. However, despite many efforts, missing data on race/ethnicity are common in VA data. The Office of Health Equity partnered with the Health Equity Research Outreach Initiatives Coin (HEROIC) to explore ways for addressing this gap. This Cyberseminar will share the findings with regard to: (1) patient and provider attitudes, challenges and preferences for how to collect race/ethnicity and (2) statistical approaches to address missing race/ethnicity data in the VAMC.
The purpose of the presentation is to share the findings from the evaluation of the VISN 4 quality improvement project to reduce racial disparities in hypertension management. The presentation will 1) highlight the partnership of Office of Health Equity, VISN 4 and CHERP in pursuit of health equity including how the project was conceived, 2) describe the nature and intensity of specific strategies implemented at individual facilities to reduce blood pressure disparities, 3) discuss the barriers and facilitators to implementing specific strategies, and 4) present data regarding the impact of the project on disparities over time. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of recommendations gleaned from the project to guide future quality improvement efforts focused on disparities in health or health care.
The purpose of this session is to discuss the VA journey and crucial partnerships towards eliminating health care disparities. It will highlight collaborations with examples from VHA Office of Health Equity, CHERP and HEROIC towards this goal. This Cyberseminar is part of the VA Center for Minority Veterans 20th anniversary events.
Module 1 - Journeys with High Blood Pressure
Natasha, an Army Veteran who served for 7 years and worked as a medic, highlights the importance of managing high blood pressure in the African American community. Natasha introduces five African American Veterans who successfully manage their blood pressure. As these Veterans share their stories, Natasha reflects on key factors in their journeys that may help you.
Born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, Danny shares how the eating habits he developed growing up in the South and while serving in the military lead to his weight gain as a retiree since he no longer exercised daily like a soldier. Eventually, Danny had an episode of blurred vision, was admitted to the emergency room and was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Learn how this Veteran took small steps to get and keep his blood pressure at a normal level. According to Danny, “if you want to live, you can do it.”
Trained as a U.S. Army artillery gunner, Morris travelled many places during his military career after growing up in the small town of Brunson, South Carolina. As an adult, Morris experienced a four day headache that sent him to the emergency room. He learned he had high blood pressure. His heavy drinking made it difficult to control his blood pressure even with medication. Morris shares how the deaths of close family and friends made him stop drinking alcohol and change his eating habits. Now, he is known as the “food inspector” who helps those close him eat healthy.
Patricia grew up in Chicago and joined the military along with two of her friends the year her mother died. Years later, she was diagnosed with high blood pressure. Patricia refused to take her medication because she did not like the side effects. A friend who ended up on kidney dialysis due to high blood pressure convinced Patricia to take her medication daily, as prescribed. Learn what Patricia does to manage her high blood pressure in addition to taking her medication.