Muirhead Lisa, Hall Priscilla, Jones-Taylor Cedrella, Clifford Gari D, Felton-Williams Tasha, Williams Kathy
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Primary Care, Atlanta VA Medical Center, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, Georgia.
J Am Assoc Nurse Pract. 2017 Oct;29(10):571-580. doi: 10.1002/2327-6924.12490. Epub 2017 Jul 21.
Women are the fastest growing Veteran population in the United States and many receive all or part of their health care outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The purpose of this article is to review the healthcare issues of women Veterans and discuss implications for care.
Review of selected literature, VA resources and guidelines, and expert opinion.
Few providers are aware of the impact military service has on the health of women and fail to ask the all-important question, "Have you served in the military?" Recognizing women's military service can reveal important information that can answer perplexing clinical questions, aid in designing comprehensive plans of care, and enable women to receive the assistance needed to address complex physical and psychosocial issues to improve the quality of their lives.
There are gender disparities related to physical health conditions, mental health issues, environmental exposures, and socioeconomic factors that contribute to female Veterans' vulnerabilities. Many of the health conditions, if recognized in a timely manner, can be ameliorated and shift the health trajectory of this population. Clinicians play a critical role in identifying health risk and helping female Veterans start the sometimes arduous journey toward wellness. Discovering and acknowledging women's military history is critical in ensuring quality care and appropriate decision making.
女性是美国退伍军人中增长最快的群体，许多人在退伍军人事务部（VA）以外接受全部或部分医疗保健。本文旨在回顾女性退伍军人的医疗保健问题并讨论护理的影响因素。
对选定文献、VA资源和指南以及专家意见的综述。
很少有医疗服务提供者意识到军事服役对女性健康的影响，也没有问那个至关重要的问题：“你有过军事服役经历吗？”了解女性的军事服役经历可以揭示重要信息，这些信息能够解答令人困惑的临床问题、有助于制定全面的护理计划，并使女性能够获得解决复杂身体和心理社会问题所需的援助，从而提高她们的生活质量。
在身体健康状况、心理健康问题、环境暴露和社会经济因素方面存在性别差异，这些差异导致女性退伍军人易受伤害。如果能及时识别，许多健康问题是可以改善的，并能改变这一群体的健康轨迹。临床医生在识别健康风险以及帮助女性退伍军人踏上有时颇为艰巨的健康之路方面发挥着关键作用。发现并承认女性的军事历史对于确保高质量护理和做出恰当决策至关重要。
