Soldier Support: Spotlight on DRES Mobile App

BLUF: A Defense Health Agency app addresses service women’s unique needs.


Photo by Adrienne Rubio
 

Deployment is a big deal, no matter your MOS or assigned location. But if you’re a woman as well, you may face some gender-specific challenges.

Some deployment resources are geared more toward male service members and, as such, may not fully meet women’s needs. For this reason, the Defense Health Agency (DHA) created an app for women called the Deployment Readiness Education for Servicewomen (DRES). The app is a resource for servicewomen to use before, during and after deployments.

The app is the result of the contributions of all the military services, military women’s healthcare providers, and military women and men. It was designed to be a one-stop shop for information on women’s unique deployment needs. Created in 2022, it has since become the second-most frequently downloaded app in DHA’s app inventory. The app covers a range of topics from packing lists, menstrual suppression, contraception education and preventive healthcare to mental health resources and sexual assault support. To view a video about the app, go HERE.

The 161-page handbook that also resulted from this effort is available HERE.

You can download the DRES app to a smartphone for quick and easy access. Download it or 25 other DHA apps HERE.

Also currently under development is another DHA app aimed at clinicians, which will focus more broadly on women’s health needs.