War Related Illness and Injury Study Center

Mission: To provide clinical care consultation and cutting-edge research for women Veterans exposed to Military Environmental Exposure (MEE)

Vision: To enhance women Veterans’ health through research and dissemination of findings on MEE

In 2022, VA’s Office of Patient Care Services, Health Outcomes of Military Exposures (HOME), designated California War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (CA WRIISC) to explore the effects of military environmental exposures (MEE) on the health and well-being of women Veterans. Women's Operational Military Exposure Network Center of Excellence (WOMEN CoE) was established in October 2022 to research how military women’s post-deployment health concerns and needs differ from men, specifically how MEE may affect women differently in the long-term and how that affects their care needs. It became a Center of Excellence in February 2024. WOMEN CoE provides clinical services to women Veterans, conducts research studies, develops educational materials on MEE, and disseminates that information to providers and Veterans. 

      

Exposures

Military environmental exposures include air pollutants, chemicals, radiation, occupational hazards, and warfare agents that an individual is exposed to during military service. These exposures affect the body through inhalation (breathing), consumption (drinking/eating), absorption through the skin, and through injection. MEE may impact various bodily systems, and WOMEN CoE is seeking to understand these associations.

Learn more about MEE.