2020 DoD Women's Reproductive Health Survey FAQs

This survey assesses the reproductive health and well-being of female military personnel and examines behaviors and experiences that female service members have that may impact readiness. Results will be used to monitor female service members’ needs, develop policies, and improve programs and services for service women.

This survey takes about 12-15 minutes.

The Department of Defense (DoD) asked the RAND Corporation to conduct an independent, objective assessment of female service members’ reproductive health, well-being, and experiences in the military.

RAND is a private, nonprofit organization that conducts research and analysis to help improve public policy and decision-making.  For more information about RAND, see: https://www.rand.org/

Westat is an internationally known research and statistical survey organization. Westat manages the technical aspects of the web survey operations and can help you with any computer or technical problems. For more information about Westat see: https://www.westat.com/

A random sample of active duty female service members below the level of flag officer (i.e., Admiral/General) in the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy, and all active duty women (below the level of flag officer) in the Coast Guard were invited to participate. 

We obtained your name and basic demographic information (e.g., service branch, pay grade, age, education level) from the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), which maintains DoD personnel records. Because we are doing an official, approved DoD survey, DMDC was authorized to give us this information. Only study staff will be able to link your survey responses to your contact information, not DoD or anyone else. 

Results will be used by DoD to improve policies and programs to better support service women. RAND will report survey findings to DoD and the public in a way that does not identify individuals. 

This is your chance to be heard on issues that directly affect the health, well-being, and experiences of women in the military. The survey results will help inform DoD of issues women in the military may face and help suggest ways to solve or prevent them and improve readiness. 

Yes. As noted earlier, this survey is confidential. This means that RAND and Westat will not give DoD information about who participated in the study, or provide your responses to them in a way that can identify you. DoD has agreed to this condition to protect your privacy.

Yes. The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Endorsement Letter posted above indicates that you can use a computer at work to do the survey.

Some questions on the survey are sensitive in nature and it is possible that you may feel discomfort in answering one or more of these items. If you feel distressed, we encourage you to contact your unit’s chaplain or a mental health professional. If you are having suicidal thoughts, please call 911 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) immediately. Additional resources can be found in the “HELP” section (hyperlink to HELP).

The survey is entirely voluntary. If you choose to take the survey, you may skip any question or stop at any time.

This is the first time in nearly 30 years that a DoD-wide study of only female service members’ experiences has been completed. Some service members may have seen some of these questions on other surveys in the past. But because those studies were of limited groups of women, and because of confidentiality protections, that information cannot be used to provide a complete picture of service women’s experiences, reproductive health and well-being. 

• Call the survey contractor, Westat, for computer, technical, or survey questions: by phone toll free at 1-855-954-3039 or by email at support@dodwomenshealth.com.
• Contact RAND for questions about the overall study:  Email: 2020WRHS@rand.org.
• Questions about your rights as a participant in this study: Contact RAND's Human Subjects Protection Committee toll-free at (866) 697-5620 or by emailing hspcinfo@rand.org. Please reference Study #2018-0692.

You should go to the following website link: https://dodwomenshealth.com and use your unique code to log in. If you have problems accessing the website, contact the Westat Survey Help Desk listed above.

You may use the weblink above and your unique identification code to re-start the survey wherever you stop at a time that is more convenient for you.