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Midwest Matters October 5th, 2024
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National Women’s Health Week

Posted by on May 14th, 2024 Posted in: Blog


May 12 – 19 is National Women’s Health Week! 

National Women’s Health Week is a reminder to focus on women’s health. Despite significant advancements in research, women still face disparities in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of various health conditions. The term “women’s health” encompasses a broad range of physical, mental, and social aspects of health related to women. Women’s health includes reproductive health, maternal health, sexual health, and overall well-being.  

We’ve compiled some resources.

Resources 

Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) Resource Library  

Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) is part of the Office of the Director of NIH, and works in partnership with the 27 NIH Institutes and Centers to ensure that women’s health research is part of the scientific framework at the NIH—and throughout the scientific community.  

ORWH Resource Library aims to educate and inform a wide range of audiences. It includes:  

The Office on Women’s Health (OWH)  

The Office on Women’s Health (OWH) is located within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The OWH site has information on a variety of

What sets this website apart is its emphasis on addressing how each health topic affects women specifically. For every listed health issue, the entry delves into its unique impact on women’s health.  

In addition, the site includes a collection of patient materials: one page fact sheets on health topics that affect women, written at the 6th- to 8th-grade reading level, in English and Spanish.   

Health care and public health professionals, take note: these fact sheets are free of copyright restrictions, so they may be copied, reproduced, or duplicated without permission!    

Check out the site’s information on healthy living by age, ovulation calculator, A-Z list of topics and more.

LactMed  

LactMed serves as a valuable resource for both healthcare professionals and breastfeeding mothers, offering evidence-based information regarding the safety of medications and other substances during breastfeeding. Users can access detailed information about the levels of substances present in breast milk and infant blood. All data provided are derived from scientific literature and meticulously referenced. Search results are easily viewable, printable, or downloadable for convenient access.  

Know Your Rights: Reproductive Health Care  

Reproductiverights.gov contains information on your right to access reproductive health care, your right to have reproductive health care covered by your insurance, and where to go if you don’t have coverage. It also contains information on your right to emergency care, birth control, medication, abortion, and preventative health services. 

Additionally, the site includes a link to file complaints with HHS if you believe that your or another person’s civil rights or health information privacy rights have been violated.   

National Institute on Aging: Women’s Health   

You can find news and information related to women and aging on the National Institute on Aging (NIA) website. NIA leads the federal government in conducting and supporting research on aging and the health and well-being of older people. Follow their page on women’s health to stay informed about the latest research on aging and women.  

Healthy People: Evidence-Based Resources

Check out Healthy People 2030’s evidence-based resources (EBRs) related to women’s health to learn about proven, science-based methods to improve health and prevent disease.

Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH) Continuing Education for Health Professionals

The goal of this educational activity, which is a joint presentation of NIH and CDC, is to identify menstrual health and hygiene as a public health concern and to describe various structural and organizational improvements to reduce disparities, stigma, and discrimination faced by menstruators across the life course. The activity offers CNE, CME, CECH, and CHP credit.

The Palgrave Handbook of Critical Menstruation Studies  

This open-access eBook, available on NCBI Bookshelf, offers a comprehensive and multidisciplinary exploration of the cultural, psychological, political, and social aspects of menstruation. Featuring 134 contributors from over 30 countries, this collection spans many genres, from empirical research to essays, poetry, visual arts, and first-person narratives.  

The book addresses menstruation experiences of historically marginalized populations, including menstruators who are autistic, living with disabilities, trans and nonbinary, migrants and refugees, incarcerated, experiencing homelessness, sex workers, and members of organized religions. Topics include social stigma surrounding menstruation, menstrual leave, policy and practice in various countries around the globe, advocacy, menstrual health interventions, menstrual misinformation, menstrual equity, the medicalization of menstruation, and more. 

Events

Below are some free, online events for National Women’s Health Week 2024:

Image of the author ABOUT Nora Barnett
Nora Barnett is the Health Professions Outreach Specialist at Network of the National Library of Medicine, Region 6. She helps unaffiliated health professionals, public health departments, and community based organizations increase organizational health literacy and meet the health information needs of their communities.

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This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Grant Number 1UG4LM012346 with The University of Iowa.

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