Abstract
BackgroundWomen veterans in the United States, particularly those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or a history of military sexual assault, have unique health care needs, but their minority status in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has led to documented healthcare disparities when compared to men. This study’s objective was to obtain a richer understanding of the challenges and successes encountered by women veterans with self-reported service-related trauma histories (particularly those with a history of military sexual assault and/or posttraumatic stress symptomology) receiving VHA care.MethodsThirty-seven female Vietnam and post-Vietnam (1975–1998) era veterans were randomly selected from a cohort of PTSD disability benefit applicants to complete semi-structured interviews in 2011–2012. Grounded-theory informed procedures were used to identify interview themes; differences between veterans with and without a history of military sexual assault were examined through constant comparison.ResultsAt the time of the interviews, many women believed that VHA was falling short of meeting women veterans’ needs (e.g., lack of women-only mental health programming). Also common, but particularly among those with a military sexual assault history, was the perception that VHA’s environment was unwelcoming; being “surrounded by men” yielded emotions ranging from discomfort and mistrust to severe anxiety. A few veterans reported recent positive changes and offered additional suggestions for improvement.ConclusionsFindings suggest that while at the time of the interviews gains had been made in the delivery of gender-sensitive outpatient medical care, women veterans with a history of military sexual assault and/or posttraumatic stress symptomology perceived that they were not receiving the same quality of care as male veterans.
Highlights
Women veterans in the United States, those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or a history of military sexual assault, have unique health care needs, but their minority status in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has led to documented healthcare disparities when compared to men
Approximately 456,000 women veterans utilized United States Veterans Health Administration (VHA) services during 2015, which accounted for about 7.5% of total VHA users; that percentage is expected to grow as more women enter the Armed Forces [1, 2]
Of the 37 women, 30 commented on gender-specific experiences seeking VHA care (73.3% of whom reported a history of military sexual assault (MSA))
Summary
Women veterans in the United States, those with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or a history of military sexual assault, have unique health care needs, but their minority status in the US Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has led to documented healthcare disparities when compared to men. This study’s objective was to obtain a richer understanding of the challenges and successes encountered by women veterans with self-reported service-related trauma histories ( those with a history of military sexual assault and/or posttraumatic stress symptomology) receiving VHA care. Women veterans utilizing VHA services have required more appointments (both within and outside VHA) than men in order to have their health care needs met [7]. It is important to understand the unique needs and experiences of women veterans as improvement efforts are implemented in order to ensure they have access to high-quality, patient-centered care
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