Total wellness for women veterans means caring for their mental, physical, and emotional health. To do this well, care needs to be connected.
Helpful supports include:
Physical activity helps recovery: WWP women warriors reported that sports and exercise helped them feel better physically and mentally.
Importance of holistic care: WWP women warriors want services that work together to meet all their mental, physical, and emotional needs.
Women veterans need more care in areas like cancer treatment, menopause management, infertility, and reproductive health.
Key concerns include:
Delayed or mismanaged reproductive care: Some WWP women warriors said they had trouble getting infertility treatment.
Preference for integrated women’s clinics: WWP women warriors appreciate places focused specifically on women's health and want more options.
Importance of culturally competent care: WWP women warriors talked about the importance of doctors understanding women’s health and how past trauma affects care.
Women veterans can sometimes feel overlooked and out of place in civilian life and in veteran groups. Feeling connected and valued is important for their well-being and quality of life.
Contributing factors include:
Bonds with other women veterans: WWP women warriors shared the importance of having strong friendships with other women who served.
Under-recognition in public and VA spaces: Some WWP women warriors shared that people often don’t realize they are veterans.
Lack of community engagement: Trauma, being homebound, and feeling isolated can make it hard to join community events.
WWP women warriors are more likely than male warriors to report family obligations (care for a parent or child, taking on dependents, funeral costs, etc.) as a top reason for financial strain or struggle.
Factors that add to this stress include:
Family obligations as a financial barrier: WWP women warriors reported family and/or child-care responsibilities as a barrier to employment opportunities.
Lack of financial literacy post-military: WWP women warriors didn’t feel they had the financial skills needed for life after the military.
Veterans falling through support gaps: WWP women warriors shared sometimes facing challenges receiving help from support programs, especially if they already get disability benefits.
Leaving the military is a critical period in time that can affect a veteran’s success in civilian life. For women, transition can sometimes be harder because support and mentorship are limited.
Common challenges include:
Isolation and feeling forgotten: WWP women warriors shared feeling invisible, irrelevant, or unsupported after leaving the military.
Trouble translating military skills: WWP women warriors experienced challenges with the workforce not recognizing or valuing their experience.
Need for transition help: WWP women warriors recommended that transition programs teach everyday basics (e.g., paying rent, scheduling care).
Ensuring Successful Transitions from Military to Civilian Life
Building Belonging with Peers and in the Community
Access to Care That Meets Women Veterans’ Needs
Advancing Preventive and Specialty Care for Women
Supporting Comprehensive Health and Well-Being
Strengthening Economic Security for Women Veterans
"[…] it was all of a sudden, you take the uniform off, and you have no identity. You're not wearing a rank. You're not wearing a uniform of a service. You don't have comrades standing right next to you day in and day out."
– Focus Group Participant
"[…] I think it comes back to what we have as women veterans is just different. We have different experiences, we have different things we went through, but we all have common bonds that the guys will never understand. So, it's different."
– Focus Group Participant
Access to reliable, high-quality care that meets women’s needs is a major concern.
Women veterans often face:
Self-advocacy exhaustion: WWP women warriors described feeling tired from constantly having to push for the care they need while dealing with symptoms.
Fragmented care: Seeing a different doctor at each visit can cause confusion.
Lack of women providers: Some WWP women warriors prefer to see women doctors and shared feeling uncomfortable when that option isn’t available.
“[…] there are some things that I wish I had a female physician that I could talk to.”
– Focus Group Participant
"[…] another aspect that was very difficult was being taken seriously, even medically.”
– Focus Group Participant
"Compartmentally, I'm at a really good place career/work wise. But health-wise, I'm not. And so one bleeds over into the other sometimes."
– Focus Group Participant
“I knew it was going to be difficult, but I didn't realize the complexity of how difficult it would be to translate your skills to civilian life."
– Focus Group Participant