Although a significant amount of research has been done to examine access to contraceptive care, particularly among civilian women, there is significantly less understanding about the needs, preferences, and experiences of veteran men and women. The authors of this report conducted a mixed-methods study of men and women veterans' access to, knowledge of, and use of contraception and contraceptive care.

Exploring Contraceptive Care and Access Experiences of Veterans

Julia Rollison, Skye A. Miner, Elaine Li, Michael W. Robbins, Daniel Shinnick, Danielle Schlang

ResearchPublished Oct 21, 2025

Practical access to contraceptive care and the ability to choose care that meets one's needs and preferences are important for an individual's health and well-being in the United States. Although a significant amount of research has been done to examine access to contraceptive care, particularly among civilian women, there is significantly less understanding about the needs, preferences, and experiences of veterans. The body of evidence on veterans' contraceptive use and knowledge of and experiences with contraceptive care shows significant gaps. Additionally, veterans' ability to use their preferred methods of contraception is uneven and influenced by the quality of counseling they receive, the availability of trained providers, and systemic disparities in access.

To address these gaps, the authors of this report conducted a nationally representative survey of men and women veterans' access to, knowledge of, and use of contraception and contraceptive care within and outside the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and its network of community care providers. This survey was supplemented by in-depth interviews. The authors aimed to better understand gaps in contraceptive access and choice for U.S. veterans of reproductive age and how these gaps might vary by certain characteristics, such as sex or where veterans receive or access care. The authors also present recommendations for care providers and veteran-serving organizations to address gaps in contraceptive knowledge, access, and care for veteran men and women.

Key Findings

  • Only about one in four veterans reported that they believe hormonal birth control is safe.
  • In response to survey questions about contraceptive knowledge, veterans answered fewer than one-half of the questions correctly or indicated that they did not know the answers. Veterans' contraceptive knowledge tended to be stronger about more-general topics than about specific methods.
  • Only 10 percent of veterans discussed birth control with their providers in the past year; most of these discussions occurred outside VHA.
  • Veterans reported that they trust providers to supply contraceptive information but often must raise the topic themselves.
  • More than one in two veterans and their partners reported that it is very important for them not to become pregnant in the next month, and slightly more than one in five veterans are using contraceptives.
  • The most used contraceptive methods reported by veterans are condoms and pills, followed by withdrawal and intrauterine devices.
  • Most veterans perceived their contraceptive needs as similar to those of civilians, although a subset of veterans mentioned unique factors, such as military-related exposures (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder, harmful substances, sensitive information), that influence their reproductive decisions.
  • Veterans reported few explicit barriers to contraceptive care, although male veterans often reported that contraception is viewed as a female topic and that they are hesitant to raise it with providers.
  • Supplemental analyses showed that, when compared with a civilian sample, male and female veterans had higher self-reported sterilization rates; male veterans reported lower condom use.

Recommendations

  • VHA or other veteran-serving organizations should establish more-comprehensive education programs that are targeted to veterans of reproductive age and that are not gender-specific. These programs could include different learning opportunities to address common misconceptions and provide accurate information about the benefits and risks of various birth control methods.
  • VHA and veteran-serving organizations should enhance communication strategies about the availability of resources and family planning and contraception benefits. By developing clear communications to convey offerings — which could include pamphlets, brochures, or other digital content on websites — VHA and other veteran-serving organizations could ensure that veterans are aware of the services that are available to them after they transition from the military.
  • Veterans generally viewed providers as their most trusted source of information about contraception, yet most were not discussing contraception with their providers. VHA could consider expanding comprehensive contraceptive counseling training for providers beyond women's health primary care providers. For non-VHA providers, efforts to improve education and awareness about proactively counseling patients on their options, particularly for male patients, should be explored by medical associations for the provider specialties that would tend to reach these populations (e.g., urology, family medicine, internal medicine).

Topics

Document Details

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Rollison, Julia, Skye A. Miner, Elaine Li, Michael W. Robbins, Daniel Shinnick, and Danielle Schlang, Exploring Contraceptive Care and Access Experiences of Veterans. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA3828-1.html.
BibTeX RIS

This research funded by Arnold Ventures and conducted in the Social and Behavioral Policy Program within RAND Social and Economic Well-Being.

This publication is part of the RAND research report series. Research reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND research reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.