Abstract:It was unknown whether women veterans associated Veterans Affairs (VA) services with transitioning from the military. This qualitative study explored a need to better understand women veterans’ perceptions of institutional betrayal and whether those perceptions affected their willingness to use VA physical and/or mental healthcare resources. A qualitative study was used and data collected using qualitative semi structured interviews for eight women veterans who identified as experiencing institutional betrayal. Thematic data analysis was conducted with the assistance of NVivo qualitative data analysis software. The conceptual framework was institutional betrayal.Five themes emerged from the results : (a) women veterans perceived their military experience as a source of betrayal despite positive impacts; (b) women veterans perceived institutional betrayal to have led to loss of trust and unwillingness to use VA services; (c) women veterans perceived facing barriers when accessing VA healthcare resources; (d) women veterans perceive non-VA healthcare providers to have more advantages than VA healthcare resources; and (e) women veterans perceived VA healthcare resources to have some positive outcomes. The results indicated that female veteran participants’perceptions of institutional betrayal influenced their willingness to use VA mental andhealthcare services, with some opting to use civilian providers instead. This research may promote social change by bringing awareness to how betrayal experiences of female veterans with one institution can impact their mental and physical healthcare decisionsand perceptions of another institution.