The focus on women veterans who use Veterans Administration health care: The Veterans Administration Women's Health Project

Women have served in every war and conflict in our history, but the effects of military duty on women are largely unknown. This article discusses the history of women in the military and presents findings from the Veterans Administration Women's Health Project. This study was designed to describe the health-related quality of life of women veterans who receive Veterans Administration ambulatory care. We assessed health status using the Short Form 36, an easily administered 36-item health survey that has been widely used and that has been shown to be reliable and valid. We compared Short Form 36 scores between veteran and nonveteran women. The results indicate that veteran women score lower on every scale compared with nonveteran women.