220 - Military Related Environmental and Occupational Exposures: Current Research and Education Efforts on Exposure Effects on Women Veterans

We will first introduce the Women's Operational Military Exposure Network Center of Excellence (WOMEN CoE) established under the VA's Outcomes of Military Exposures (HOME) to explore the effects of Military Environmental Exposures (MEE) on women's health. We will discuss our ongoing research efforts on MEE's impact on reproductive cancer, autoimmune disease, infertility, and menopause. Next, we will discuss findings from women Veterans in HOME's Gulf War Era Cohort Study (GWECS. Specific research results spanning 30 years that will be discussed include Gulf War environmental exposures, fertility and birth outcomes, Gulf War illness, chronic disease, menopause experience, and reproductive cancers. Finally, we will describe our efforts to improve care for women Veterans with MEE concerns by providing national clinician education. We regularly provide live national webinars, clinical briefs, a monthly journal clu,b and presentations at national conferences. We also evaluate the impact of these efforts through surveys, national needs assessment, and point-of-care evaluations with Veterans with MEE concerns.