Patterns in Urogenital Health in Active Duty Servicewomen: A Prospective Cross-Sectional Survey Evaluating Impacts of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Resources Across Three Military Environments
Abstract
Female warfighters are at risk for sex-specific and frequently unrecognized urogenital health challenges that may impede their ability to serve. The constraints on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) resources by austere environments, whether at home or abroad, require women to practice unhealthy hygiene behaviors that jeopardize their urogenital health. In this manuscript, we examine the use of WASH resources by U.S. Army active duty servicewomen (ADSW) across three settings—home duty, field training, and deployment—to determine how the changing availability of WASH resources alters hygiene and sanitation practices in austere environments. Additionally, we report findings from a previously developed theoretical framework for determining the impacts of austere environments on ADSW’s hygiene knowledge, behaviors, and outcomes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 28, 2023
- Source ID
- 10.1093/milmed/usad042
Entities
People
- Angelyn M. Brown
- Christina B. Terehoff
- Christopher H Stucky
- Elisabeth W. Andersen
- Elizabeth A. Kostas-polston
- Heather Nickole Smith
- Kristi R Norcross
- Lauren N. Nash
- Natasha R Randall
- William J. Brown
- Zach A Delabastide
Organizations
- 44th Medical Brigade
- Alexander T. Augusta Military Medical Center
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine
- Landstuhl Regional Medical Center
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences