VA TO CONDUCT STUDY OF
VIETNAM-ERA SERVICEWOMEN
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is launching a comprehensive
study of women Veterans who served in the military during the
Vietnam War to explore the effects of their military service upon
their mental and physical health.
The study, which begins in November 2010 and lasts more than four
years, will contact approximately 10,000 women in a mailed survey,
telephone interview and a review of their medical records.
As women Vietnam Veterans approach their
mid-sixties, it is important to understand the impact of wartime
deployment on health and mental outcomes nearly 40 years later. The
study will assess the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
and other mental and physical health conditions for women Vietnam
Veterans, and explore the relationship between PTSD and other
conditions.
VA will study women Vietnam Veterans who may have had direct
exposure to traumatic events, and for the first time, study those
who served in facilities near Vietnam. These women may have had
similar, but less direct exposures.
Both women Veterans who receive their health care
from VA and those who receive health care from other providers will
be contacted to determine the prevalence of a variety of health
conditions.
About 250,000 women Veterans served in the military during the
Vietnam War and about 7,000 were in or near Vietnam. Those who were
in Vietnam, those who served elsewhere in Southeast Asia and those
who served in the United States are potential study participants.
The study represents to date the most comprehensive examination of a
group of women Vietnam Veterans, and will be used to shape future
research on women Veterans in future wars. Such an understanding
will lay the groundwork for planning and providing appropriate
services for women Veterans, as well as for the aging Veteran
population today.
Women Veterans are one of the fastest growing segments of the
Veteran population. There are approximately 1.8 million women
Veterans among the nation’s total of 23 million living Veterans.
Women comprise 7.8 percent of the total Veteran population and
nearly 5.5 percent of all Veterans who use VA health care services.
VA estimates women Veterans will constitute 10.5 percent of the
Veteran population by 2020 and 9.5 percent of all VA patients.
The study, to be managed by VA’s Cooperative Studies Program, is
projected to cost $5.6 million.
If you are a women veteran who served during the Vietnam Era (either
in-country or elsewhere) and are interested in learning more about
VA's Long Term Health Study on Vietnam Era Women you can submit your
name as a potential study participant by calling the toll free
number at 1-888-831-3325 or e-mail to healthviews@va.gov.
Participants will be determined by random selection.
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