Changing demographic characteristics of women veterans: Results from a national sample

Women veterans are a small but growing percentage of the U.S. veteran popul ation. There are some indications that, along with this increase, the chara cteristics and military experiences of younger women veterans differ consid erably from those of older colleagues. Many of these characteristics are no t well defined, but they could have implications for women's health care ne eds and health policy initiatives. Using the first sample drawn from the De partment of Veterans Affairs' new National Registry of Women Veterans, we d esigned and administered a telephone survey to a representative sample of w omen veterans across several major age groups. Groups approximated primary eras of military and wartime service based on the assumption that different eras might be associated with differing military experiences. We found a n umber of age-related similarities and differences in women veterans' demogr aphic characteristics, military experiences, physical health symptoms, and functional outcomes. Women veterans in general also differed from female ci vilian counterparts on exposure to sexual trauma. Trends in the population of women veterans are likely to have implications for the variety of health care systems that treat women veterans.