title: Exploring the patterns, practices, and experiences of military women who managed genitourinary symptoms in deployed settings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To gain a better understanding of genitourinary (GU) health during deployment in the context of a military culture.
  
  
  METHODS
  An ethnographic study design was selected to understand how military women managed GU symptoms during deployment.
  
  
  METHODS
  The deployed experiences were recalled from various locations around the world.
  
  
  METHODS
  The final sample consisted of 43 military women from the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Navy who were either deployed or had been deployed within the past year.
  
  
  METHODS
  Audio recorded interviews ranged from 30 to 75 min in length. Semistructured interviews were used to gather women's stories about their illness behaviors in the deployed setting. Formal interviews, informal interviews, and field notes were included in the data analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three themes were identified: (a) life in the deployed setting described the location women were referring when they experienced GU symptoms; (b) the dynamics of trust described individuals or entities that were trusted sources of information, supplies, or support; and (c) the sphere of control described the activities utilized to maintain health or manage GU symptoms.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study is significant to nursing research because it exposes the influence of culture on GU symptom management. Recommendations from this investigation include the following: provide better incremental, predeployment, and in-theater education for women and medics; inform leaders about the need to ensure the supply of self-care treatments and women's feminine hygiene products are available; and promote the role of family support stateside as a resource for information, supplies, and emotional support.
authors: Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, Nurse Corps and director of nursing research, Lackland AFB, TX.. Electronic address: candy.wilson@lackland.af.mil.
authors: Candy
authors: C
authors: Wilson
authors: Graduate School, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO.
authors: Jenenne P
authors: JP
authors: Nelson
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D052776:Female Urogenital Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D052576:Menstrual Hygiene Products; D008886:Military Hygiene / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008888:Military Nursing; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015399:Nursing Research; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*; D014038:Toilet Facilities; D014481:United States; D014857:Warfare; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult