Gender differences in the utilization of a military ship's medical department

Civilian studies show roughly a three-fold higher use of medical resources by females of childbearing age than males. Significantly higher use of medical services by females would be important information when staffing and supplying U.S. Navy ships to accommodate female crew members. In this light, visits to the medical department on a ship with a mixed-gender crew were reviewed for a 6-month period. Total visits were counted by gender, and female visits were categorized. Females were seen at a rate 9.2 times that of males (6.44 vs. 0.70 visits per year). Gender-specific problems accounted for a minority of female visits (39%), whereas gender-neutral problems yielded a female-to-male visit ratio of nearly 6:1. At this rate, the work load of a ship's medical department will increase substantially when integrating women into an all-male crew.