Incorporating Lesbian and Bisexual Women into Women Veterans’ Health Priorities

Abstract

Relative to the general population, lesbian and bisexual (LB) women are overrepresented in the military and are significantly more likely to have a history of military service compared to all adult women. Due to institutional policies and stigma associated with a gay or lesbian identity, very little empirical research has been done on this group of women veterans. Available data suggest that compared to heterosexual women veterans, LB women veterans are likely to experience heightened levels of prejudice and discrimination, victimization, including greater incidence of rape, as well as adverse health and substance use disorders. They are also likely to encounter a host of unique issues when accessing health care, including fears of insensitive care and difficulty disclosing sexual orientation to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) providers. Training of staff and providers, education efforts, outreach activities, and research on this subpopulation are critical to ensure equitable and high quality service delivery.

Military Sexual Assault as a Mediator of the Association Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Depression Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Veterans

“…For example, LGB veterans have been found to be significantly more likely to have PTSD and depression than heterosexual veterans (Ray‐Sannerud, Bryan, Perry, & Bryan, ) or a general sample of veterans (i.e., the sample may have included LGB veterans; Cochran, Balsam, Flentje, Malte, & Simpson, ). The presence of PTSD and depression among LGB veterans is concerning as these mental health issues have been associated with negative behavioral health outcomes within the general LGB population, such as substance abuse (Davis, Uezato, Newell, & Frazier, ; Leeies, Pagura, Sareen, & Bolton, ) and suicidality (Krysinska & Lester, ; Lehavot & Simpson, ; Lytle, De Luca, & Blosnich, ).…”

Critical questions

“…Relationships with LB Veterans can be improved by using neutral and inclusive language that is integrated in the sexual history. An important goal should be to create a climate in which women feel safe to disclose their sexual orientation (DeKleijn, Lagro-Janssen, Canelo, & Yano, 2015;Lehavot & Simpson, 2013). Recommendations for gender sensitive care also include policies that actively promote women with choice in providers, and same-sex clinicians (DeKleijn et al, 2015).…”

Setting the Stage: Research to Inform Interventions, Practice and Policy to Improve Women Veterans’ Health and Health Care

“…Drs. Lehavot and Simpson provide their perspective on how this important topic can be better examined in research studies 16. Mattocks et al conducted a cross-sectional study of OEF and OIF women Veterans at two VA facilities, asking also about sexual preference 17.…”