Health Disparities Among Women Veterans

The use of the Veterans Affairs medical care system has significantly increased over the last decade due to two recent wars and an aging Vietnam Veteran population. As females have been accepted in all roles into the military, their population within the military has progressively multiplied over the last three decades. Since females in general typically use healthcare at a higher rate than their male counterparts, it is necessary to ascertain if the female veteran

Traditionally men are considered to be at high risk. However Hemingway et al reported that women have a similarly high incidence of angina when compared with men. Additionally women with stable angina have an increased long-term coronary mortality when compared with women from the general population (122, 124).

The population of interest, based on the aforementioned research question is, female combat veterans. For the purpose of this research, this is narrowed down to female service members, more specifically of the Army, who have previously been activated in support of an operation in said combat zone. Participants must have received combat benefits, such as hostile fire pay to fall within the realm of the veteran interest group.

Veterans have a heightened need for medical and mental healthcare compared to the general population, and rural veterans have proven be in significantly more need of such care (Weeks, et

In 2016, there were “around 16.9 million male veterans and 1.6 million female veterans in the U.S.” (Statista, 2017). In other words, the U.S. military is predominately male and 78% are white. On 2014, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs reported that women constituted 8% of the veteran population. Within this group, 67% of the females were white while 33% belonged to minority groups (0.9% Native American and Alaskan American; 2.3% Asian; 18.4% Black; 8.2% Hispanic; 2.6% two or more races; 0.2% others). Overall, minority Veterans, account for 22% of the total veteran population. The two largest groups showcased in that figure are Blacks (11%) and Hispanics (7%).

Disabled Women Veterans experience a large gap in services compared to their male counterparts. They experience large gaps in healthcare services, transition services, disability compensation, employment, and housing (Disabled American Veterans, n.d.). This gap leads to higher levels of stress and a high level of need among the Woman Veteran population. Little to no treatment groups exist specifically to the Woman Veteran population and the many challenges the population experiences, leaving them socially isolated. Disabled Women Veterans have many needs to address with disabilities ranging from psychological to physical. Their disabilities alone lead to the need for treatment that address their disabilities and the stress that comes with these

The Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) has been tasked with providing support and benefits to Veterans after they have completed their service. However, many Veterans are reporting difficulty accessing care due to systematic barriers within the VA’s Veterans Health Administration (Oliver, 2007). Complex eligibility requirements, long wait lists and lack of providers are a few of the issues Veterans are faced with when trying to access health and mental health care. Additionally, studies indicate that veterans, predominantly those from the recent wars in Iran and Iraq, have disproportionately high amounts of mental illness (Shim & Rust, 2013). These same veterans are experiencing difficulty accessing mental health care due to issues around a backlog of healthcare eligibility applications and a shortage of mental health providers through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which operates the Nation’s largest, integrated health care delivery system (APA, 2014). In 2014, at the request of the Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluated the merit of the allegations of mismanagement at the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) and the Health Eligibility Center (HEC).

Sue Kelly once said that “The sacrifices made by veterans and their willingness to fight in defense of our nation merit deep respect and praise-and to the best in benefits and medical care” (BrainyQuotes). When it comes to a person lacking civil rights, it is most common for the general public to picture an African American, a gay-or queer-person, or someone else in the minorities. However, statistics have shown a surprising rise in veterans with limited health care, no house, and no job. It is under these numbers, that in which I instate my belief that there lies a major civil rights issue in the veteran community to which American civilians must answer to.

After the 82nd Legislative session in 2012 the Women Veterans Initiative began and served as a temporary solution to this long range problem facing women veterans. HB 867 established a permanent answer to the

To demonstrate even further barriers to access for rural veterans, rural female veterans present with many differing challenges…limited labor and job opportunities, lack of available childcare resources, and limited job opportunities (Szelwach, Steinkogler, Badger, & Muttukumaru, 2011). Additionally, according to the NHRA (2014) female veterans encounter even more barriers in accessing mental health care due to the potential effects of military sexual trauma (MST). Moreover, there is a need for those who are trained in mental and primary

military, women play a larger role than in earlier generations, and they serve in combat support positions such as pilots, convoy transportation, intelligence, mechanics, and military police (Street, Vogt, & Dutra, 2009). These positions have placed female veterans at significant risk for exposure to psychological and physical stress, and women are also at increased risk for experiencing gender harassment and demeaning behaviors based on biological sex differences (Gutierrez et al., 2013). Additionally, roughly one in five women seen by the VA have a history of military sexual trauma (Department of Veterans Affairs, 2010), and they experience stress related to lower social support from peers (Street et al.,

I agree with you how shocking it is that 6.1% of veterans lived in poverty. I had a perception growing up that veterans got great benefits and lived in fancy houses. I also agree with you that those who serve there country should not end up living on the streets. I had also believed that the Navy branch was the biggest because so many of my classes and friends are in the Navy. I was surprised to find out that it was the Army that was the biggest.

Attention getter: Heart Disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States. According to The Center for Disease Control (CDC), heart disease claimed more than 292,188 women’s’ lives in 2009, that’s 1 in every 4 female deaths. The National Coalition of Heart Disease states that “A woman dies every 34 seconds.”

Crimmins, Hayward, Ueda Saito and Kim in there journal article give statistical data on heart disease and death in both women and men (2008). This article states “37 percent of men and 27 percent of women over the age 65 report having a heart condition” (Crimmins et al., 2008). Crimmins research addresses the many differences in men with coronary artery disease compared to women with coronary artery disease. The study noted that men have a higher mortality rate from heart disease than do women (Crimmins et al., 2008). This article also notes that “40-50 percent of postmenopausal women will develop heart disease” (Crimmins et al., 2008). Crimmins and colleges noted men develop heart disease 5 to 10 years earlier in life than do women ( 2008). Evidence suggests that women who are hospitalized for cardiovascular issues are less likely to “receive certain types of drugs and diagnostic and treatment procedures” (Crimmins et al., 2008). Low socio-economic status and poor educational levels also have a marked effect on men and women’s knowledge of cardiovascular disease and the timing of when they seek treatment (Hemingway, 2007).

In America, women’s health issues are overlooked by men’s health issues. If women wanted to look online for symptoms of angina or heart attacks, most of the information would appear to be for men. According to the article, “Women’s Health Issues Still Poorly Represented in Scientific Studies”, “the science that informs medicine routinely fails to consider the impact