ABSTRACT
There is a lack of understanding of how perceived racism in Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA) healthcare providers affects the delivery of healthcare services to African American (AA) Veterans thus leading to health disparities in this population. Specifically, there is a lack of understanding of this phenomenon from the view of AA female Veterans who sought mental health care from providers within the VHA. The aim of this study was to determine if AA female Veterans have experiences of racism in their interactions with VHA mental health providers contributing to disparities. Using a phenomenological qualitative analysis approach with five AA female Veterans, the researcher was able to identify four qualitative themes: mental health service delivery, provider belief system about AA female Veterans, and the impact of microaggressions on AA female Veterans. Based on the results of this study, the following were determined: (1) there is an existence of perceived racism from VHA mental health providers to AA female Veterans, (2) we better understand AA female Veterans' perceptions of their VHA mental health providers based on their interactions, (3) there is a shared lived experience of the phenomenon racism from VHA mental health providers, and (4) there is a failure of VHA to address the needs of AA female Veterans despite VHA policies for support.
