Publication Date |
2003 |
Personal Author |
Pierce, P. F. |
Page Count |
72 |
Abstract |
More than 33,000 U.S. military women served in key combat-support positions throughout the Persian Gulf region during Operations Desert Shield and Storm. As the largest deployment of military women in United States history, comprising about 6.8 percent of U.S. forces, scientists were provided a unique opportunity to gain knowledge about women's participation in wartime deployments as well as the effects of this significant life event upon their subsequent physical and emotional health. The aim of this study is to assess whether the prevalence of health problems remain elevated in women deployed to the theater of operations at 68 years post deployment, after controlling for potentially confounding factors such as age, reproductive history, sexual history, and lifestyle factors. With the previous and current support of the Tri-Service Nursing Research Program (TSNRP) we have developed the largest repository of health information of PGW veterans and the only research program dedicated solely to the health and well-being of women. The scientific value of obtaining long-term health surveillance data within the same population is twofold: (1) randomized sampling allows for sophisticated statistical analyses to rule out competing hypotheses including environmental exposure and psychological stress among others, all the while controlling for the effects of age and other factors, and (2) such a repository of epidemiological data will establish a database available for other investigators to test emerging hypotheses. A total of 1,800 exposed women (i.e., deployed in the theater of operations) and 1,800 unexposed women (deployed elsewhere), frequency matched on component (active duty or reserve/guard) and parental status (parent or not a parent) were randomly sampled from the data tapes provided by the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC). The results of this multifactorial longitudinal study provides comprehensive health surveillance data and models predicting physical and emotional health outcomes post-deployment. An unexpected outcome is a model that represents the relationship of post-deployment health to retention in Air Force women. |
Keywords |
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Source Agency |
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Corporate Authors |
Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor. School of Nursing.; TriService Nursing Research Program, Bethesda, MD. |
Supplemental Notes |
Sponsored by TriService Nursing Research Program, Bethesda, MD. |
Document Type |
Technical Report |
Title Note |
Final rept., 01 Jul 02-31 Aug 03. |
NTIS Issue Number |
200926 |