Promoting Military Women's Health Through Research Design

Area of Science:

• Military medicine
• Women's health research
• Health services research

Background:

• Active duty women (ADW) comprise over 17% of the U.S. Armed Forces, yet evidence-based health guidelines specific to them are scarce.
• Existing military health research often excludes ADW or fails to analyze data by sex and active duty status, limiting generalizability.
• This lack of specific evidence hinders the development of tailored health guidelines for women in contemporary military roles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the critical need for evidence-based health guidelines for active duty women (ADW).
• To propose a rigorous research design framework that ensures the inclusion and analysis of ADW in military health studies.
• To identify stakeholder roles in overseeing research to guarantee rigorous methodology encompassing ADW.

Main Methods:

• Conducted seven scoping reviews of literature pertinent to ADW health and healthcare.
• Analyzed existing military studies for the inclusion and sex-specific reporting of ADW.
• Developed a step-by-step approach for research design prioritizing ADW representation.

Main Results:

• Identified a substantial proportion of military studies that do not include ADW or report sex-disaggregated findings.
• Highlighted significant gaps in the evidence base for ADW health and healthcare.
• Confirmed the need for a systematic approach to integrate ADW into research protocols.

Conclusions:

• Implementing a rigorous, inclusive research design is crucial for building a robust evidence base for ADW health.
• Ensuring ADW are accounted for in all research stages is vital for developing effective health guidelines.
• Optimizing ADW health through evidence-based practices is essential for maintaining U.S. Armed Forces strength and readiness.