Schultz Dana, Lovejoy Susan L, Williams Kayla M, Lindquist Kerry, Ruder Teague
Rand Health Q. 2023 Sep 15;10(4):7. eCollection 2023 Sep.
Women make up an increasingly large share of the U.S. veteran population, and their numbers continue to grow while the overall number of veterans is on the decline. Yet programs designed to support veterans' health and well-being have largely focused on men. Women's military experiences and postservice needs often differ from those of men, and women veterans also differ in significant ways from their nonveteran counterparts. Few studies have explored these variations, and this has translated to potentially missed opportunities to improve support for women during and after their transition from military to civilian life. Adagio Health, a provider of health, wellness, and nutrition services based in Western Pennsylvania, has taken steps to improve care for women veterans in its service area. To identify opportunities to further expand and enhance Adagio Health's efforts to support women veterans' health and wellness, the authors quantitatively and qualitatively assessed the needs of women veterans in the Adagio Health service area. The assessment provides a clearer picture of this often-underserved population, available services and resources, gaps in support, barriers to access, and areas to prioritize to provide the best support possible for the health and well-being of women who served. With the approaches recommended in this assessment, Adagio Health can continue increasing its capacities and capabilities for supporting its women veteran patients and making progress toward its goal of advancing their health and well-being.
在美国退伍军人中，女性所占比例日益增大，且其数量持续增长，而退伍军人总数却在下降。然而，旨在支持退伍军人健康和福祉的项目大多聚焦于男性。女性的军事经历和退役后的需求往往与男性不同，而且女性退伍军人与非退伍军人女性在诸多重要方面也存在差异。很少有研究探讨这些差异，这可能导致错失改善女性从军队过渡到平民生活期间及之后所获支持的机会。阿代吉奥健康中心是宾夕法尼亚州西部一家提供健康、养生和营养服务的机构，已采取措施改善其服务区域内女性退伍军人的护理。为确定进一步扩大和加强阿代吉奥健康中心支持女性退伍军人健康和养生工作的机会，作者对该中心服务区域内女性退伍军人的需求进行了定量和定性评估。此次评估更清晰地展现了这个常未得到充分服务的群体、现有的服务和资源、支持方面的差距、获取服务的障碍以及为更好地支持服役女性的健康和福祉而需优先考虑的领域。采用本评估中推荐的方法，阿代吉奥健康中心能够继续提升其支持女性退伍军人患者的能力，并朝着促进她们健康和福祉的目标迈进。
