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Women veterans can face multiple and compound barriers when it comes to accessing healthcare services.
This is TRUE
Research shows that, in addition to the barriers to seeking help common across all veteran groups, women veterans often encounter additional barriers related to their minority status and gender. These can include gender and sexuality based discrimination, increased time demands resulting from multiple roles such as caring responsibility, and a perceived lack of service provider knowledge of gendered experiences, including MST.
Women veterans report in research that service providers need to better understand their unique needs.
This is TRUE
Testimonies from women veterans highlight a need for veteran-focused services to better recognise and respond to their needs as women and for health services to be more aware of their needs as veterans. Military informed or military experienced primary care staff were perceived as integral in successful provision of care.
Women veterans may present with different healthcare needs compared to civilian women.
This is TRUE
Whilst women veterans’ holistic health needs broadly align with those of their civilian counterparts, certain concerns – such as those around menopause, perinatal health and fertility – may need to be considered in the context of military service. Particularly because research has found that mental health challenges associated with women service were sometimes exacerbated during menopause and the perinatal period.
Research reports that women veterans expressed a desire for more diverse support options.
This is TRUE
Women veterans participating in research have called for more diverse support options. While some preferred to access all-gender services, in one study three-quarters of the women surveyed felt there was a place for women-specific services.
