Building Effective Programs: Coping with the Patchwork Quilt of Women's Health Issues

Research & Data Needs

Presenters: Wanda Jones, Dr.P.H., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health and Director of the Office on Women's Health, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). Marcy Gross, Senior Advisor on Woman's Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Participants in this session had the opportunity to identify and discuss the health services research that will be needed to address some of the unanswered questions concerning women's health needs. Participants organized their discussion of research interests around general data and research needs, what States can do individually to enhance and promote better quality health care for women, and the role AHRQ can take in these endeavors.

Participants identified the following general data and research needs:

• Greater emphasis on analysis of cost data associated with delivery of services (i.e., cost comparisons of different preventive services and methods).
• An evidence base for the effectiveness of wellness and prevention programs (particularly for adolescents).
• A scientific evidence base for hormone replacement therapy.

Participants identified the following areas where States can take the lead in moving the women's health agenda forward:

• Use a cost savings argument to demonstrate that good health is good business (e.g., prove that preventive care is beneficial for both health outcomes and costs).
• Explore potential partnerships between State health departments and other sectors (e.g., housing, education, labor, transportation).
• Learn how State women's health offices work with their budget offices to secure funding for women's health programs and ensure that the funding is committed to women's health initiatives alone.

Participants offered the following suggestions for AHRQ's role in facilitating States' efforts:

• Explore the feasibility of establishing an interagency initiative for training health professionals to communicate with and engage those outside their field. Participants emphasized the idea that talking amongst themselves will not change what is happening in the community; for that reason, health professionals need to be trained in how to frame their messages to promote public health among a wide range of target audiences.
• Analyze and disseminate the results of States' successful strategies.
• Take workshops like this to the local level, to explore the role that local health departments and local stakeholders can play in strengthening and supporting women's health initiatives.

Current as of September 2001

---

Previous Section         Contents                        

---

Internet Citation:

Building Effective Programs: Coping with the Patchwork Quilt of Women's Health Issues. Workshop Brief, March 12-14, 2001. User Liaison Program. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/ulp/women/ulpwomn.htm

---