{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T21:14:33Z","timestamp":1790716473949,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"Supplement_1","funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100007188","name":"Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100007188","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100007188","name":"Uniformed Services University","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100007188","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100003896","name":"Henry M. 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Gynecologic conditions such as abnormal uterine bleeding, fibroids, and endometriosis can also limit women\u2019s optimal health and performance, and a significant proportion of military women have indicated their desire to manage and\/or suppress menstrual cycles, especially when deployed. Access to the full range of contraceptive methods is an important strategy to allow women to achieve their reproductive goals and address other health concerns. This report reviews rates of unintended pregnancy and contraceptive utilization among servicewomen and examines factors that influence these measures of health.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>What Defense Health Horizons Found<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Overall rates of unintended pregnancy are higher among servicewomen than the general population and rates of contraceptive use among servicewomen are lower than the general population. Congress mandates that servicewomen have access to contraceptive options, but the DoD has not established target measures for contraceptive access and use, unlike that present for the civilian population.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>What Defense Health Horizons Recommends<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Four potential courses of action are proposed to improve the health and readiness of military women.<\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:p>Recommendation 1: The Military Health System (MHS) should develop and maintain reliable sources of data to assess the gynecologic health of servicewomen, including rates of unintended pregnancy.<\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:p>Recommendation 2: When menstrual suppression, treatment for a medical condition, or contraception is desired, servicewomen should have ready access to the information they need to select the option that is best suited for their personal preferences and situation.<\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:p>Recommendation 3: In order to ensure that servicewomen have optimal access to the full range of contraceptive methods, the MHS should determine true access at all their facilities and identify actions to address any barriers.<\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:p>Recommendation 4: The MHS should establish service delivery targets for use of women\u2019s preventive health services, particularly contraception, to prevent unintended pregnancies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/milmed\/usac354","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,7]],"date-time":"2023-03-07T18:48:10Z","timestamp":1678214890000},"page":"8-14","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Improving the Health and Readiness of Military Women"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"188","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5366-2663","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Catherine T","family":"Witkop","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Departments of Preventive Medicine and Gynecologic Surgery & Obstetrics, School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University , Bethesda, MD 20814, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5310-719X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elizabeth A","family":"Kostas-Polston","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Daniel K. 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