The javascript used on this site for creative design effects is not supported by your browser. Please note that this will not affect access to the content on this web site.
Skip Navigation
H H S Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration

A-Z Index  |  Questions?  |  Order Publications

OWH At a Glance
  • Print this
  • Email this

Office of Women's Health

The mission and work of the Office of Women’s Health (OWH) is guided by the overarching theme, “To improve the health, wellness and safety of women and girls across the lifespan through policy, programming, outreach and education.”

OWH coordinates women’s health-related activities across HRSA, strengthening the programmatic focus to reduce sex and gender-based disparities and support comprehensive, culturally competent, and quality health care. OWH’s goals are to: 

  • Provide leadership on policy and programs; 
  • Expand access to quality health services, education and community-based interventions; and 
  • Support mentorship and lifelong learning opportunities. 

Selected cross-cutting, activities supported by OWH include:

Supported Activities

Among the activities HRSA OWH supports are the following: 

Bright Futures for Women's Health and Wellness is 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 is an annual reference publication summarizing key statistics on health indicators by sex, race/ethnicity, and age.  It is developed in partnership with the Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s Office of Epidemiology, Policy, and Evaluation and the Bureau’s Division of Healthy Start and Perinatal Services.

State Women's Health Profiles provide each U.S. State and jurisdiction's women's health-related priority needs, State performance and outcome measures, and additional women’s health-related data supplied by States in the 2010 Title V 5-year needs assessments.

National Women’s Health Week

National Women’s Health Week is an annual event that takes place during the week following Mother’s Day each year in May 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.

Violence Prevention
Violence prevention is one of the office’s top priorities and efforts are underway to raise awareness through collaboration with HRSA Bureaus and Offices, other HHS agencies, and external partners. Current activities include providing violence prevention updates and technical expertise on the behavioral impacts of trauma affecting women and girls to identify gaps, and recommendations for systems change, integration, and collaboration. The office also coordinates the Violence Prevention Workgroup (VPW) through the HRSA Women’s Health Coordinating Committee (WHCC) and other partners to coordinate violence prevention-related activities and national health observance events. In 2011, the VPW led efforts to revise the HRSA Workplace Violence Prevention Policy and partnered with the HRSA Learning Institute to implement a mandatory annual training for employees.

Webinars

Dental Team Awareness: Signs and Symptoms of Abuse in Children and Adolescents, Wednesday, February 13, 10 to 11 am ET
Will help clinicians distinguish differences in unintentional dental trauma and dental trauma as a result of abuse, identify signs and symptoms of abuse and steps to report abuse or intervene on behalf of a patient.

Family Planning Services in Community Health Centers (recorded 01/31/2013)

Did You Know?

February is Teen Dating Violence Month. Teen dating violence is defined as the physical, sexual, or psychological/emotional violence within a dating relationship, as well as stalking. According to the CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Division of Violence Prevention, 1 in 10 teens in the U.S. report being hit or physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend at least once in a 12 month period. Nearly half of all teens in relationships say they know friends who have been verbally abused. It is important that communities begin to recognize the signs and symptoms of dating violence and utilize resources to address the issue. The HRSA Office of Women’s Health in collaboration with the Administration for Children and Families continues to raise awareness around the impact of teen dating violence in the community and to promote healthy teen relationships through a series of webinars and activities. In addition, the HRSA Maternal and Child Health Bureau promote healthy relationships among youth through the Stop Bullying campaign.

Source:
CDC February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness & Prevention Month exit icon
Teen Dating Violence exit icon

Resources:
Stop Bullying
CDC Dating Matters Initiative
 

52

52 Weeks of Women's Health
get the app from the National Institutes of Health.