Office of Women’s
Health
The mission and work
of the Health Resources and Services Office of Women’s Health (HRSA
OWH) is guided by the overarching theme, “Healthy Women Build Healthy
Communities.” OWH is organizationally housed within the HRSA/ Maternal
and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). The Office coordinates women’s
health-related activities across all HRSA Bureaus and Offices. This cross-cutting
role strengthens HRSA’s programmatic focus to reduce sex
and gender-based disparities, and ensure that women from all walks of
life receive comprehensive, culturally competent, quality health care.
OWH fulfills this role through activities related to five broad functions:
- Serving in a leadership
capacity on women’s health and sex/gender-specific issues and
policy for HRSA senior managers and with other agencies in the Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS);
- Coordinating and
supporting sex/gender-specific disease prevention and health promotion
activities within HRSA and HHS;
- Serving as the
HRSA liaison with other Federal and non-Federal individuals and
organizations working on women’s health and sex/gender-specific
health related issues;
- Providing mentorship
experiences for scholars and interns and encouraging staff development
opportunities;
- Supporting educational
and information dissemination efforts on topics related to sex/gender
specific health issues.
In all of its work,
HRSA OWH promotes an integrated approach to women’s health across
the lifespan. Such an approach takes into account the physical, mental,
socio-economic, cultural, and spiritual aspects of women’s lives,
as well as the multiple personal and professional roles that women play
in their families and communities.
Selected cross-cutting,
women’s health-related activities supported by HRSA OWH include:
- National
Women’s Health Week – (the week each year in May following
Mother’s Day) – an annual event to recognize the importance of improving
the health and well-being of women across the country. Families, communities,
businesses, government, health organizations and other groups work together
to focus on healthy lifestyles and simple action steps to improve physical
and mental health and prevent disease.
-
Bright Futures for Women’s Health and Wellness
– an initiative to plan, develop, implement, and evaluate a variety
of evidence-based, culturally competent consumer, healthcare provider,
and community products that will increase women’s awareness and use
of preventive health services.
- Women’s
Health USA Databook– an annual reference publication summarizing
key statistics on health indicators by sex, race/ethnicity, and age,
developed in partnership with the MCHB’s Division of Healthy Start and
Perinatal Services and the Office of Data and Program Development.
Resources
The HRSA Women’s
Health Web site, www.hrsa.gov/womenshealth,
is a gateway to information about projects in the Office of Women’s
Health.
Women’s health-related
publications are also available from the HRSA Information Center.
To see a complete list of offerings, visit www.ask.hrsa.gov
or call toll-free, (888) ASK-HRSA (275-4772).