Health Disparities Among Women Veterans

On February 3, 2016, U.S. Senators (Joni Ernst, Barbara Boxer, Sherrod Brown, Richard Blumenthal, and Julia Brownley) introduced the “Female Veteran Suicide Prevention Act” bill (Congress.gov, 2016). The bill directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to identify evidence-based mental health care and suicide prevention programs that can effectively reduce suicide rates among female veterans. This is an important issue to address given that suicide is a significant problem affecting military service personnel. For instance, data have shown that of the 1.7 million veterans who serve in Iraq and Afghanistan, 300,000 return with serious mental and psychiatric health issues such as major depressive disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder

a whole. We will then determine surveyors’ perception of veterans’ access to care, knowledge of benefits available to them, equity of care received, and differences in care among veterans in separate socioeconomic and living areas. Also, a Likert-scale will be used to determine the extent of each individual’s belief about how Veteran’s health care is working. Lastly, there is a section for free response that encourages participants to explain their opinions and anything they may have experienced to influence said opinions.

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).

Over the past few years, there has been huge discussions when the topic of equality for women who have joined the military is being brought up. Being that gender equality is a big thing in the military now, I decided to chose this topic and discuss how I feel about it. According to the United States constitution, all men are created equal and this does not exclude women. One of the main things I learned is that equality for women in the military is a major issue. There should be no gender inequality in the United States military period. Most jobs are now open to women that were once allowed for only a man to do but when it comes to something such as the military, it should have always been that way No one should be told they can’t do something when it requires fighting for your country. Even back when men were drafted in the military, women should have been able to get drafted as well. You would think the military would take any and everybody that is willing to fight for his or her country simply because it would make our job easier as a whole. Frequently, women are stereotyped as feeble and incapable of doing certain things. Nevertheless, this should not be applied in any kind of career, particularly in the military.

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

Current funding for veteran healthcare care is low and insufficient because of the large number of veterans, who are being discharged from the military as the country transitions to a democratic President. According to Dr. Rachel Nardin in her article about veteran healthcare, “Soldiers get excellent acute care when injured on active duty, but as revelations of poor conditions for soldiers receiving ongoing outpatient care at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center highlighted, service members often have trouble getting the care they need once active duty ends” (Nardin 1)

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%).

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.

The first is increasing the employment rates by providing vocational and training services to improve veteran’s chances at gainful employment. Secondly, offering Health Services that could provide much needed mental health care to the women who return from combat suffering from not only Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) but also from Military Sexual Trauma (MST). The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans reports that women veterans who have experienced MST along with PTSD are at greater risk of facing homelessness (Tsai, Rosenheck, and Kasprow par. 3). This program will help address some of the unique needs of these women

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.

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.

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.”

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).

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