Every year, the Department of Defense will spend $500 million to address healthcare inequities that affect women in a variety of sectors, such as active-duty military people, veterans, and their families. This funding supports medical readiness for the whole force and represents a significant advancement in our understanding of and ability to treat conditions that disproportionately or exclusively affect women.

Women’s Health at the Center of New Research
Women in the military face distinct health challenges compared to their male counterparts. Nearly 2 million female military retirees, more than 230,000 active-duty women, and their families receive medical care from the DoD. Blood, hormone, nutritional, and immune system disorders are more than twice as common in women in this category as in men. Additionally, their rates of disease and injury, such as musculoskeletal problems, are 1.5 times higher than those of males. These health inequalities have an impact on military readiness as a whole, in addition to individual well-being. To tackle this, the DoD is prioritizing women’s health in its research agenda.

The Department of Defense is implementing new research guidelines that mandate that researchers incorporate women’s health concerns into their work at every level. Beginning in October 2024, sex as a biological variable must be analyzed in studies supported by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). Medical research should disregard the one-size-fits-all paradigm when looking at health outcomes for women by using this approach.
The CDMRP will likewise standardize its funding announcements to encourage research on women’s health and inform the scientific community that more needs to be done to address these discrepancies. The top research priorities include gynecological cancers, eating disorders, chronic fatigue, and rheumatoid arthritis. Additional funding will be allocated to these areas in the upcoming years.

Innovative Small Business Collaborations with the VA
DoD’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs and conventional research funding encourage women’s health innovations. The Department of Defense endeavors to promote innovative advancements that can enhance the care of women service members and veterans and their benefits by assisting small enterprises in developing innovative technologies and medical solutions.
In this endeavor, cooperation is also necessary. The VA and the Defense Department established a Women’s Health Research Initiative in 2024. This project aims to coordinate research activities to ensure that healthcare solutions are suited to women at every stage of their lives—from active duty to retirement. The two agencies aim to enhance evidence-based therapy and address care gaps by exchanging data, resources, and knowledge for essential topics, including mental health, musculoskeletal injuries, and midlife health concerns.

Providing Better Clinical Care and Education
The Military Health System (MHS) medical staff are also trained by the Department of Defense to deliver the highest quality of treatment to women. Through unique programs like the DoD/VA Women’s Health Mini-Residencies, healthcare providers can receive continuous training emphasizing the most recent advancements in gender-specific care. These initiatives improve provider expertise and guarantee that women’s particular demands are recognized and met in clinical settings.
A telemedicine clinic devoted to treating menopausal and cardiovascular health, as well as the Women’s Midlife Health Concerns Working Group, are two further initiatives the MHS is doing to enhance women’s health in midlife. As a leader in women’s health care, inside and outside the military, the DoD is establishing itself by incorporating the most recent research and offering focused assistance.

Women’s Health from a Holistic Perspective
Beyond only providing funding for research, the Department of Defense is committed to improving the health of women at every stage of life through a comprehensive approach that addresses health disparities. As a result of educational and training opportunities for providers, partnerships with veterans’ organizations, or creative research, the Department works to make sure that women service members, veterans, and their families receive the treatment they need.
A program like this is about more than just health; it’s about justice, readiness, and military medicine’s future. The Department of Defense is laying the groundwork for improvements to all beneficiaries and service members through the focus on women’s health. This will result in a stronger and healthier workforce for years to come.