Military Medics' Insight Into Providing Women's Health Care in Deployed Settings

To gain better understanding of the military medics' (Navy Independent Duty Corpsman, Air Force Independent Duty Medical Technician, and Army Health Care Specialist, experiences providing health care for women in the deployed or ship setting.

The researchers used an exploratory, descriptive design informed by ethnography. A total of 86 individuals participated in the focus group and individual interviews.

Three themes were identified: Training Fidelity, Advocate Leader, and The Challenges of Providing Patient Care.

Experience in austere settings has convinced a number of medics they need additional women's health care topics in every facet of their training. They further suggested such training should be provided in stepwise fashion, beginning with initial, technical training courses and continuing through medical skills sustainment platforms. They were especially interested in basic women's health concerns. Topics suggested included vaginal infections, urinary tract infections, and birth control management.

Although the advancement of women in the military continues to make strides-it is clear the availability of quality women's health care that women feel comfortable accessing may be its defining limitation. Medics are an excellent conduit for reinforcing these healthy messages and providing first-line treatment to deployed military women.