Abstract
Correlation Between Female Veteran Mental Health and Branch of Military
Margaret Shields, PhD, MS, CHES, NDTR1, Kate Thomas, Ph.D.2, Chandelle Bernard1 and Duncan Lumsden1
(1)Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO, (2)Charleston Southern University, Charleston, SC
APHA's 2019 Annual Meeting and Expo (Nov. 2 - Nov. 6)
From the end of the US draft for military service in 1973, and a new reliance on the all-volunteer military, there has been significant growth in the number of women participating in armed forces. The US Air Force has the highest percentage as of 2016 (19% enlisted with 21% officers) and the US Navy reports rates only slightly lower (19% enlisted with 18% officers). Since 2011, the anti-terrorism campaigns have had an impact on deployment frequency and duration, which have in-turn impacted the rates of mental health conditions, such as posttraumatic stress (PTS), depression, and suicide in military veterans. While this has been a topic of interest in recent years, breaking down specific rates and analyzing both male and female veteran predictors of depression diagnoses and symptoms, the relationship of branch of military and female veteran mental health has yet to be analyzed. As female veterans are six time more likely to commit suicide than civilian counterparts and PTS rates sit at approximately 20% (with some studies reporting statistics up to 50%), it is important to continue to deduce impacting factors for future preventative measures. This research used collected data from female veterans (n=1,299) to analyze predictors of mental health diagnoses and symptoms in relation to the branch of military participated in to better understand the impact of environment and resilience programming. The results of the study will help to tailor programming that will better impact and resonate with female veterans, commanding officers, and correlating branch of military for a targeted preventative and intervention education to lower the high rates of mental health diagnoses and suicide in US female military veterans.
Advocacy for health and health education Diversity and culture Public health or related research Social and behavioral sciences