Panel: Embarrassment keeps
many
women from meeting health needs By Sandra Jontz, Washington bureau
VIENNA, Va.
— Embarrassment is one reason military women on deployment don’t get their
health needs met.
Some might
be reluctant to get a pelvic exam by a physician or nurse practitioner, especially a male,
and then have to sit next to them at the chow hall, experts said Friday during a weeklong
conference of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, or DACOWITS.
Instead,
some women on deployment choose to stay out of the doctor’s office unless absolutely
necessary, often compromising their health care, said Lt. Col. E. Cameron Ritchie, with
the Pentagon’s Office of Health Affairs.
DACOWITS,
made up of civilian and military men and women, will submit a report within roughly a
month to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of recommended changes affecting women in
service, future trends and continuing concerns.
The
organization was set up 50 years ago by Defense Secretary George C. Marshall to address
needs of women in the military, from pay to health benefits. The organization holds
semi-annual conferences to address varying needs.
Keeping
quiet
On Friday,
Quality of Life committee members agreed they hear a lot of military women say they are
embarrassed to talk to commanders or physicians about such topics and menstruation,
female-related illnesses and birth control.
"We’ll
talk about flat feet, near sightedness and far sightedness … but we won’t talk
about the readiness issue that impacts a lot of our service," said retired Air Force
Lt. General John Fairfield, the vice chairman of the Quality of Life committee.
Urinary
tract infections are common among women on deployment, especially those assigned to
convoys because of a lack of private lavatory facilities and unhygienic conditions,
Ritchie said.
"You
have 400 people using a port-a-potty for three days … and no one wants to use or sit
down on a port-a-potty after that," she said.
The
infections usually are caused by the unsanitary conditions and dehydration. Women away for
long periods don’t drink as much fluids as needed because they don’t want to
have to go to the bathroom, she said.
The
problems pose health risks for men as well, she reminded the committee.
Experts
recommend troops carry baby wipes to help keep themselves clean, and wear bathing suits
under uniforms so they can shower if a lack of privacy is an issue. The military is
researching other types of portable lavatories and disposable devices men and women can
wear for urination.
Other tips
to prepare for deployment will be posted to a Web site in the coming weeks. They are taken
from a female soldier readiness guide, and until posted, people interested can e-mail Col.
Roderick Hume at: roderick.hume@nw.amedd.army.mil.
The
Pentagon’s health office also provides physicians and practitioners various
computerized compact discs that contain necessary information about treating women in the
field. Topics run the gamut from pre-deployment planning to pregnancy, sexually
transmitted diseases and how to care for both physical and mental needs of a female
servicemembers held as prisoners of war.
The
electronic disc contains extensive graphics, including a short segment on performing a
Caesarean section. They also list the phone numbers of every military hospital found
worldwide physicians can use in emergencies.
Child
care and Tricare
Thursday’s
morning Quality of Life session also dealt with child care, or the lack thereof, and
problems with Tricare, the health management organization contracted to provide
health-care services for the military.
Parents
often complain about having to pay for child care, even when their children are out due to
illnesses or vacations, and a lack of adequate facilities to care for children with
special needs, said Barbara Thompson, a program analyst for the Pentagon’s Office of
Children and Youth.
The office
is working to adopt a plan servicewide that mirrors an Army program in which some
facilities will care for children as young as two weeks old.
Typically,
child development centers and home-based providers don’t take children unless they
are at least six weeks old.
More
information is available at their Web site at: http://militarychildrenandyouth.calib.com.
Also,
facilities in the United States and overseas are working to enhance centers to accommodate
children with special needs, she said.
The biggest
complaint voiced against Tricare was the lack of providers in remote areas that subscribe
with the management company. As of April 1, active duty members assigned to remote areas
no longer have to pay co-payments.
Non-subscribers
can still collect those fees, and some demand them up front, creating hardships for some,
Lt. Col Francine Forestell, a Tricare representative, said.
A lack of
funding prevented Tricare from extending the co-payment waiver to families of active duty
personnel in remote areas. It should be in place April 1, 2002.
More
information is available at their Web site at: www.tricare.osd.mil.
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