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Abstract
The recent increased deployment of women in the U.S. military is creating a sharp rise in women accessing Veterans Administration (VA) for health care. Historically, the majority of patients using VA services have been male. This sudden increase by female users has created multiple challenges that may potentially affect the quality of health care they receive. These challenges include a lack of data on the women who qualify for and need services, clinical environments designed for the needs of a women, inadequate staffing, both in terms of appropriate skill sets to address the special needs of women veterans (e.g., gynecological knowledge, sequelae of sexual trauma, post traumatic stress disorder, etc.) and also the numbers of skilled personnel.