NIH’ers peruse health materials offered at a CC exhibit sponsored by ORWH.

National Women’s Health Week at NIH, sponsored by the Office of Research on Women’s Health, was a big success. New, convenient locations for publication distribution and special events contributed to attracting large crowds of NIH staff. The ORWH exhibit—centrally located in the Clinical Center 3rd-fl. bridge—included materials from all institutes and centers. More than 15,000 publications were given out and many people came back two or three times not only to pick up more materials, but also to ask ORWH staff questions about women’s health research.

ORWH director Dr. Vivian W. Pinn (l) and guest speaker Dr. Anne S. Kasper meet at an NIH Community Forum.

ORWH also joined the NIH Division of Police for a “Safety Celebration” in recognition of National Police Week and Women’s Health Week. Hundreds of hungry NIH’ers lined up for BBQ and visited the ORWH booth to ask questions and gather health materials.

Also unique to this year’s events, ORWH and the coordinating committee on research on women’s health sponsored an NIH Community Forum, “Seeking New Dimensions and Strategies for Women’s Health Research: Recognizing the Contributions of Our Bodies, Ourselves,” in Lipsett Amphitheater.

Forum attendees were welcomed by a written statement of continued support from U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). The guest speaker was Dr. Anne S. Kasper, contributing author of the groundbreaking book Our Bodies, Ourselves, founding member of the U.S. Women’s Health Movement and organizer and chair of the Maryland Women’s Coalition for Health Care Reform. NIH staff and visitors from women’s health advocacy organizations discussed past, present and future roles of advocacy organizations in setting priorities for women’s health research.—Marsha Love