Society for Women's Health Research
Encyclopedia
The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR), a national non-profit organization based in Washington DC. Founded in 1990, SWHR's mission is to bring national attention the need for the appropriate inclusion of women and minorities in major medical research studies and the need for more information about conditions affecting women exclusively, predominantly, or differently than men. SWHR advocates for greater public and private funding for women’s health research and the study of sex differences that affect the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease; encourages the appropriate inclusion of women and minorities in medical research studies; promotes the analysis of research data for sex and ethnic differences; and informs women, health care providers, and policy makers about contemporary women’s health issues through media outreach and periodic briefings, conferences and special events.
As a result of SWHR’s work, women are now included in medical research and clinical trials; scientists are researching the ways in which health conditions and diseases affect men and women differently and why. Through its use of evidence-based research and multi-pronged policy and public education efforts, as well as the involvement of health care providers and policy makers dedicated to improving women’s health, women’s health is now a national priority. The current and only President and CEO is Phyllis Greenberger, MSW.
In the spring of 1989, Dr. Haseltine gathered friends and colleagues from medical and scientific organizations across the country to address this critical issue. They congregated at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and agreed on the need not only for more gynecological research at NIH but also for research regarding women’s health in general. This meeting gave rise to SWHR.
SWHR ensured that its dedicated leadership included a diverse group of health care providers and others concerned with research and health care equity, to provide a range of perspectives. Included in the initial gathering at ACOG and later on the first SWHR Board, were physicians and researchers specializing in cardiology, mental health, and obstetrics-gynecology, as well as nurses, lawyers, and public policy advocates involved and interested in women’s health. In 1993, SWHR opened its official headquarters in Washington, D.C. and hired its first professional staff. Phyllis Greenberger, MSW, was selected as the first Executive Director and remains as President & CEO today.
In 1990, due to biases in biomedical research, the health of American women was at risk. SWHR’s first Board of Directors made it their priority to confront this injustice. They worked with the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, its Executive Director - Leslie Primer, and Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) to persuade the General Accounting Office (GAO; now the Government Accountability Office) to address the issue. They recommended that GAO evaluate NIH’s policies and practices regarding the inclusion of women and minorities in clinical trials.
The audit was successfully released at an NIH re-authorization hearing in June 1990. It concluded that the NIH policy of 1986, which encouraged the inclusion of women in clinical trials, had been poorly communicated and misunderstood within NIH and the research community at large. Additionally, it was applied inconsistently across Institutes and was only applied to extramural research (research conducted outside NIH). The GAO report concluded that there was “…no readily accessible source of data on the demographics of NIH study populations.” This made it impossible to determine if NIH were enforcing its own recommendations.
SWHR holds frequent briefings for members of Congress and their staff on important health issues that are impacted by congressional policies and funding decisions, testifies before congressional committees and provides comment on legislation and regulatory proposals related to women’s health and research.
Supporting its advocacy work, SWHR maintains the Women’s Health Research Coalition (WHRC), an advocacy network of leaders to academic medical, health and scientific institutions to encourage coordination and funding for women’s health research.
SHWR annually presents “Excellence in Women’s Health Research Journalism Awards” to honor journalists who excel in providing the public with valuable and accurate health research information.
In January 2006, SWHR published its first book for consumers, The Savvy Women Patient: How and Why Sex Differences Impact Your Health. The book is a guide to health conditions and treatments unique to women of all ages and focuses on how women’s health differs from men’s.
SWHR established:
SWHR administers the RAISE Project. The goal is to increase the status of professional women through enhanced recognition of their achievements in science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics.
As a result of SWHR’s work, women are now included in medical research and clinical trials; scientists are researching the ways in which health conditions and diseases affect men and women differently and why. Through its use of evidence-based research and multi-pronged policy and public education efforts, as well as the involvement of health care providers and policy makers dedicated to improving women’s health, women’s health is now a national priority. The current and only President and CEO is Phyllis Greenberger, MSW.
History
SWHR was founded by Florence Haseltine as the Society for the Advancement of Women's Health Research in 1990. When Dr. Haseltine began working at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), she was told that her “role was to champion the field of obstetrics and gynecology,” which at the time were under-represented in research. In 1985, NIH lacked sufficient in-house expertise and funding for academic scientists. When her friend, Rosa DeLauro, developed ovarian cancer, Dr. Haseltine seized the opportunity to promote the need for more research into conditions affecting women.In the spring of 1989, Dr. Haseltine gathered friends and colleagues from medical and scientific organizations across the country to address this critical issue. They congregated at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and agreed on the need not only for more gynecological research at NIH but also for research regarding women’s health in general. This meeting gave rise to SWHR.
SWHR ensured that its dedicated leadership included a diverse group of health care providers and others concerned with research and health care equity, to provide a range of perspectives. Included in the initial gathering at ACOG and later on the first SWHR Board, were physicians and researchers specializing in cardiology, mental health, and obstetrics-gynecology, as well as nurses, lawyers, and public policy advocates involved and interested in women’s health. In 1993, SWHR opened its official headquarters in Washington, D.C. and hired its first professional staff. Phyllis Greenberger, MSW, was selected as the first Executive Director and remains as President & CEO today.
In 1990, due to biases in biomedical research, the health of American women was at risk. SWHR’s first Board of Directors made it their priority to confront this injustice. They worked with the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, its Executive Director - Leslie Primer, and Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) to persuade the General Accounting Office (GAO; now the Government Accountability Office) to address the issue. They recommended that GAO evaluate NIH’s policies and practices regarding the inclusion of women and minorities in clinical trials.
The audit was successfully released at an NIH re-authorization hearing in June 1990. It concluded that the NIH policy of 1986, which encouraged the inclusion of women in clinical trials, had been poorly communicated and misunderstood within NIH and the research community at large. Additionally, it was applied inconsistently across Institutes and was only applied to extramural research (research conducted outside NIH). The GAO report concluded that there was “…no readily accessible source of data on the demographics of NIH study populations.” This made it impossible to determine if NIH were enforcing its own recommendations.
Goals
In 2011 the Society for Women's Health Research is looking ahead to challenges facing the country with healthcare and health insurance reforms. SWHR strives to ensure that women’s health remains a high priority on the national agenda and that sex differences become more widely recognized as vital to health care treatment options. Both the size of staff and roster of volunteer leaders have grown over time to assist in these efforts. Medical, nursing, and scientific experts from a wide range of disciplines have participated in SWHR’s efforts. SWHR staff relies on OSSD Council officers and members, current and past members of SWHR Networks, contributing authors of the Savvy Woman Patient, and presenters from past SWHR conferences, as well as its scientific advisory board for the medical and technical knowledge that undergirds all its science programs, educational outreach and advocacy efforts.Programs
SWHR maintains three programmatic areas – public policy (advocacy), communications (public education), and scientific programs (research) – to accomplish its mission.Advocacy
SWHR’s advocacy and public policy efforts ensure that women’s health issues remain a priority on the national agenda.SWHR holds frequent briefings for members of Congress and their staff on important health issues that are impacted by congressional policies and funding decisions, testifies before congressional committees and provides comment on legislation and regulatory proposals related to women’s health and research.
Supporting its advocacy work, SWHR maintains the Women’s Health Research Coalition (WHRC), an advocacy network of leaders to academic medical, health and scientific institutions to encourage coordination and funding for women’s health research.
Education
SWHR’s outreach and education efforts for the general public include media outreach, periodic public education campaigns, a website, regular online moderated discussions, electronic newsletters, biweekly news articles distributed to the media, and special events, including conferences for consumers.SHWR annually presents “Excellence in Women’s Health Research Journalism Awards” to honor journalists who excel in providing the public with valuable and accurate health research information.
In January 2006, SWHR published its first book for consumers, The Savvy Women Patient: How and Why Sex Differences Impact Your Health. The book is a guide to health conditions and treatments unique to women of all ages and focuses on how women’s health differs from men’s.
Research
SWHR’s research works with researchers and clinicians in the public and private sectors to promote and support the field of sex-based biology. SWHR hosts conferences, meetings, workshops and forums to discuss the role biological sex plays in health and physiological function.SWHR established:
- In 2006, the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD), a scientific membership society to enhance the knowledge of sex/gender differences by facilitating interdisciplinary communication and collaboration among scientists and clinicians of diverse backgrounds.
- In 1999, SWHR Interdisciplinary Networks are a series of networks working to foster interdisciplinary basic and clinical research on sex and gender differences: SWHR ISIS Network on Sex, Gender, Drugs and the Brain, SWHR ISIS Network on Metabolism, SWHR ISIS Network on Musculoskeletal Health, and SWHR ISIS Network on Cardiovascular Disease, as well as the SWHR/Susan G. Komen Network for the Study of Exercise and Breast Cancer.
- In 2006, the “Society for Women’s Health Research Medtronic Prize for Scientific Contributions to Women’s Health,” the annual $75,000 prize recognizes a woman scientist or engineer for her contributions to women’s health and encourages women to research issues uniquely related to women’s health.
SWHR administers the RAISE Project. The goal is to increase the status of professional women through enhanced recognition of their achievements in science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics.