The Society for Women’s Health Research is the nation’s only non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health of all women through research, education and advocacy. The Society encourages the study of sex differences between women and men that affect the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. 

Visit the Society's Web site at: http://www.womenshealthresearch.org/ for more information.

Sign up to receive the Society's free biweekly e-newsletter to stay up-to-date on important women's health research news, legislative updates, news service articles on the latest sex differences research, Society news and upcoming events, and much more. Sign up now: http://www.womenshealthresearch.org/enews

Founded in 1990, the Society brought to national attention the need for the appropriate inclusion of women in major medical research studies and the need for more information about conditions affecting women exclusively, disproportionately, or differently than men.

The Society advocates increased funding for research on women’s health; encourages the study of sex differences that may affect the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease; promotes the inclusion of women in medical research studies; and informs women, providers, policy makers and media about contemporary women’s health issues.

The 2001 Institute of Medicine report, Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health: Does Sex Matter?, reinforced the Society’s efforts, validating what it had emphasized for years: differences between the sexes exist in a broad range of diseases, disorders and conditions.

The Society continues its work with medical and scientific communities, legislators on Capitol Hill, and the health care industry to ensure medical research includes women and supports women’s health issues. Through education campaigns the Society reaches out to the public, sharing vital information about women’s health research and policy issues.

In the late 1980s, a group of women’s health professionals organized for change. These founding members of the Society for Women’s Health Research (formerly the Society for the Advancement of Women’s Health Research) were researchers, lobbyists, activists, doctors and nurses, and administrators who were convinced that the health of American women was at risk due to biases in biomedical research.

In the summer of 1990, the fledging all-volunteer Society was the force behind a landmark event. The previous year, at the suggestion of the Society’s leadership, the Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues had asked the General Accounting Office, the watchdog agency for Congress, to investigate the progress the National Institutes of Health had made in implementing its 1986 policy encouraging the inclusion of women as subjects in clinical research. The report found that little, if any, progress had been made. On June 18, 1990, congressional hearings were held. Follow-up coverage in the press, generated by the Society’s efforts, reported the GAO’s findings.

Public outrage fueled the work of congressional champions. A month after the GAO report, the Congressional Caucus on Women’s Issues introduced the Women’s Health Equity Act (WHEA) of 1990. This legislative response consisted of twenty separate bills to improve women’s health research, access to health care, and disease prevention services. The following day, WHEA’s chief Senate sponsor, Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), attached three provisions creating an Office for Women’s Health Research (OWHR) at NIH, requiring that women be included in clinical trials, and establishing five contraceptive and infertility research centers to legislation reauthorizing NIH. Faced with the prospect of swift congressional action, the NIH quickly issued a strengthened policy and created a new Office of Research on Women’s Health to coordinate women’s health research activities at the office.

Since those early events, both the Society and the field of women’s health research have grown enormously. In 1993, the Food and Drug Administration issued new guidelines regulating women’s participation in pre-market clinical trials. Also in 1993, the Society worked with the Clinton Administration and Members of Congress to pass the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 that was signed by the President and explicitly requires the inclusion of women in federally funded clinical research. The Society for Women’s Health Research remains a leader in the effort to identify and gather support for important new areas of research in women’s health.

View SWHR Legal Notices at: http://www.womenshealthresearch.org/legalnotices.

Coronary heart disease and stroke kill more Americans every year than all cancers combined. What’s even more disturbing is that there is often a single underlying cause.

It’s known as atherosclerosis, or athero for short. It’s a progressive buildup of fatty deposits or plaque in the arteries that can eventually limit the flow of blood. Each year, atherosclerosis is linked to nearly one in four (1 in 4) deaths in the United States.  And atherosclerosis usually doesn’t cause signs and symptoms until it severely narrows or totally blocks an artery.

That’s why the Society for Women’s Health Research is working to get the word out about atherosclerosis – and how to prevent it. We are partnering with “Us Against Athero,” a campaign to encourage Americans to take better care of their arteries, avoid atherosclerosis and live healthier lives.

A key component of the campaign is a traveling exhibit called the Artery Explorer, an interactive movie that takes you on a journey through your arteries to reveal the science of heart disease. In the Explorer, you will see exactly how risk factors like high levels of bad cholesterol, smoking, and high blood pressure help contribute to atherosclerosis.

You can learn more about atherosclerosis and find out when the Artery Explorer is coming to your area by visiting http://www.usagainstathero.com/.

Cholesterol is also strongly implicated in the development of atherosclerosis. The Society for Women’s Health Research has information on cholesterol and some of the challenges women face in addressing this important health issue:

Women Have Poor Understanding of Cholesterol (news service article)

Young Women Claim Concern, but Demonstrate Ignorance about Cholesterol

Older American Women Better Informed About Cholesterol than Younger Women, but Gaps Remain in Knowledge and Screening

Women and Heart Disease: The Role of Cholesterol (an archived online moderated discussion)

This May, the Society for Women’s Health Research is partnering with Revolution Health to bring attention to women’s health issues via the first national online Women’s Health Expo. Revolution Health’s online Women’s Health Expo will feature 11 health issues showcasing tools and resources from select nonprofit organizations that can directly impact women and their families. 

The Society will host a “virtual” health booth featuring our rich tools and information for women of all ages. Revolution Health is providing donations of up to $10,000 for visits to each of the nonprofits’ health booths. Visit our booth at the Revolution Health Women’s Health Expo, and encourage all the women in your life to visit, too!

The Women's Health Research News Service specializes in content and resources on the latest research findings on sex differences. The articles cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from Parkinson’s disease to skin cancer to AIDS.

This week's article:

Fibromyalgia Affects Women More Often than Men

View news service articles by topic here: http://www.womenshealthresearch.org/newsservice

What Is the Issue and Why Should I Care?
Women’s health research is in jeopardy and your support is needed to ensure its future! Special offices in the federal government dedicated to improving the health of all women are operating on shaky ground. At any moment, their funding could be cut or they could be forced to close their doors.

The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) is working with Congress to see that this does not happen and women’s health remains a top priority. A bill called the Women’s Health Office Act (WHOA) was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on February 15, 2007. If made law S. 612/ H.R. 1072 would protect the offices and provide them with statutory authorization. Learn more...

What Can I Do to Make a Difference?
You can help convince lawmakers to support the bill and see that it gains momentum in both houses of Congress. Now that the WHOA has been reintroduced, we urge you to contact your Senators and Representative and encourage them to cosponsor and vote for the bill. Now is a great time to get involved and ask your members to take action!

You can do this by sending a letter to your Senators and Representative. Click here to read and send the letter.