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Show 1990 because past medical research had disproportionately focused on men.4o The NIH Women's Health Initiative (WHI), begun in 1991 and slated to be one of the largest prevention studies in the country, will examine some of the major health concerns of postmenopausal women.39,41 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has included women's health among its five priority areas.42 This change in the way that science, medicine and society are examining the health needs of women is worthy of imitation in Utah. Health workers and educators in Utah, whether in the private or public sectors, should encourage women to participate in research studies which seek to determine the value of prevention efforts. The intervention components of the randomized controlled trial planned by the WHI will examine the effects of a prevention approach on more than one disease outcome. For example, one intervention will simultaneously determine the effect of hormone replacement therapy on the prevention of coronary heart disease and osteoporotic fractures.41 The Utah health community should also invest in prevention efforts that target more than one condition or disease. For example, encouraging women to exercise regularly will not only improve their cardiac fitness but will also decrease their risk for osteoporosis and possibly colorectal cancer.43 Health care providers, scientists, policy makers, public health workers and advocates need to broaden the definition of women's health to better encompass those issues identified by women themselves as health concerns: "When women are asked about their health concerns they consistently identify violence, stress, mental health and poverty as significant factors affecting well-being. "2 Finally, women need to become better educated about the health issues that pertain to them so that they may make sound decisions. In order to do this, women need access to accurate information. Health educators, public health workers and health care providers all need to play a role in this educational process. It is important to assist women in translating complicated and sometimes confusing health messages into actions that they can take to improve their health. With this knowledge, women can become advocates for their own and their families' health needs. Women are already moving in this direction. Often, it is the woman who assumes responsibility for the family's health care and health behaviors and this role may enhance her own interest in health issues.31,44 This attention to women's health does not advocate paying less attention to men's health issues. Rather, as Simkim advises, we must work with women to make the phrase "women's health" obsolete by building a health care environment where women's and men's health needs are addressed equally and well. References 1. Dan, Alice J.,ed. Reframing Women's Health: Multidisciplinary Research and Practice. Thousand Oaks, GA: Sage Publications, 1994. 2. Phillips S. The social context of women's health: goals and objectives for medical education. Can Med Assoc J 1995; 152(4): 507-511. 3. Simkin, FJ. Women's health: time for a redefinition. Can Med Assoc J 1995; 152(4): 477-479. 4. Mongella G. Global approaches to the promotion of women's health. Science 1995; 269: 789-790. 5. Utah Department of Health. Women's Health in Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, September 1996. 6. Utah Department of Health, ACTION 2000 Interactive Computer System. 7. Utah Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, Demographic and Economic Analysis, 1996. 8. Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1995. No. 633, Characteristics of Civilian Labor Force by State: 1994, p. 403. 9. Utah Department of Health, Office of Surveillance and Analysis. Leading Causes of Death in Utah by Age and Sex, 1988-1992. Salt Lake City, Utah, May 1994. 10 Taking a Closer Look at Women's Health |
