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Women Veterans

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Veteran Psychiatry in the US

Abstract

Women have served critical roles in the military since the American Revolution. Today, about 15% of the active duty force are females. The proportion of women veterans in the US population is currently at its highest point in history, comprising approximately 10% of the total. Women veterans have unique needs related to reproductive health, infertility, and amputations. Compared to nonveteran females, women veterans are more likely to experience homelessness, certain mental health conditions, and suicide. This chapter will describe who women veterans are and how their military service affects their postmilitary lives and review best practices for gender-sensitive mental healthcare based on these insights.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA

    Kasey M. Llorente

  2. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Department of Behavioral Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Keelan K. O’Connell

  3. George Washington University Hospital, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Washington, DC, USA

    Margaret Valverde

  4. Department of Psychiatry, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC, USA

    Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

  5. Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA

    Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

  6. George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA

    Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

  7. Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Silver Spring, MD, USA

    Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

  8. Mental Health Community Based Outpatient, Washington, DC, USA

    Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

Authors
  1. Kasey M. Llorente
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  2. Keelan K. O’Connell
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  3. Margaret Valverde
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  4. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kasey M. Llorente .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Mental Health Community Based Outpatient, Georgetown University, Mental Health Community Based Outpatient, Silver Spring, MD, USA

    Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

  2. Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington DC VA Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, Washington, DC, USA

    Maria D. Llorente

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Llorente, K.M., O’Connell, K.K., Valverde, M., Ritchie, E.C. (2019). Women Veterans. In: Ritchie, E., Llorente, M. (eds) Veteran Psychiatry in the US. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05384-0_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05384-0_18

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-05383-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-05384-0

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