The Department of Defense (DoD) has announced new initiatives to address health disparities faced by women, including conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect them. This effort is part of the broader mission to support the health of women service members, veterans, and beneficiaries. The DoD aims to enhance medical readiness and aligns with the President's Executive Order on Advancing Women's Health Research and Innovation.
Key actions include allocating $500 million annually for women's health research through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). Starting October 1, 2024, a new policy will ensure that women's health is considered at every stage of the research process. The CDMRP and Military Health System Research funding announcements will be standardized to encourage research on women's health issues. Additionally, DoD's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs will increase investments in early-stage small businesses focused on women's health.
These measures build on existing efforts such as a collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), establishing the Military Women's Health Research Program, and appointing Dr. Lynette Hamlin as its Director at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences.
"Investing in women's health research and evidence-based care is critical to meeting the healthcare needs of the women served by DoD," states a spokesperson from DoD. The department provides medical care to over 230,000 active-duty service women and nearly 2 million female military retirees and their families. Women in this population experience higher rates of conditions in categories like hematological, genitourinary, endocrine disorders, nutrition issues, immunity-related disorders, musculoskeletal injuries, and connective tissue problems compared to men.
The CDMRP funds specialized research areas affecting women such as Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus, orthopedic injuries, musculoskeletal injuries, and various cancers. In FY 2022-2023 alone, CDMRP funded 751 grants supporting 706 researchers. For FY 2024 onwards more funding will be directed towards topics like rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, eating disorders and gynecological cancers.
A new policy requiring researchers seeking CDMRP funding to consider sex as a biological variable in study design will take effect on October 1st next year. This aligns with similar policies from other institutions like National Institutes of Health.
Efforts are also underway across other DoD research programs like Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences' Military Women's Health Research Program which funds annual grants amounting $1.67 million focusing specifically on women's health studies including physical/emotional pain due uterine fibroids or prenatal mental support among others
Defense Health Agency’s SBIR/STTR programs revised their Broad Agency Announcement mechanism encouraging participation by women innovators/entrepreneurs while increasing investment into applied/practice-oriented researches targeting female-specific concerns based upon stakeholder inputs received during development phase itself
Further strengthening collaboration between VA & DOD under joint Healthcare Executive Committee auspices led formation Women’s Healthcare Collaborative aimed promoting coordinated/joint initiatives addressing pressing gaps via systematic roadmap creation prioritizing crucial areas needing immediate attention/action alongside developing provider proficiency building tools/training modules through mini-residency workshops focused either musculoskeletal/mental aspects respectively held twice annually apart launching midlife telehealth clinic studying birth outcomes attended certified nurse midwives versus physicians within MHS framework provision world-class cancer/translational care services Murtha Cancer Center Walter Reed Gynecological Excellence Center setting benchmark standards nationwide/global contexts alike
