Reproductive
Health
Women’s reproductive
capacity plays an important role in shaping their lives and health experience.
Gynecological health is not only an important component of women’s health during the
reproductive years, but throughout the life course. The Office on Women’s Health in
the Department of Health and Human Services (OWH) is working to ensure that all women lead
healthy and productive lives through the following programs and activities:
Departmental
Task Force on Assisted Reproduction
Due to the rising numbers of women who seek assisted reproductive technologies
(ART) each year, then-DHHS Secretary Shalala established the Departmental Task Force on
Assisted Reproduction in December 2000. The primary areas of focused activity for the Task
Force include: (a) addressing gaps in the science base regarding the health risks and
outcomes associated with ART; (b) developing a coordinated approach to Departmental
oversight and regulation; and (c) examining the Department's role and responsibilities in
addressing consumer protection and education issues with regard to ART. The Task Force is
an interagency collaboration coordinated by OWH and consists of representatives from the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Assistant Secretary for Planning
and Evaluation (ASPE), CDC, FDA, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), NIH, and
the Office of the General Counsel (OGC).
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Female Genital
Cutting (FGC)
The U.S. Congress has directed DHHS to address the issue of female genital cutting
(FGC) by:
- compiling data on the number of females living in the U.S.
affected by this practice
- identifying communities in the U.S. that practice FGC and
implementing outreach activities to educate individuals in those communities about the
health effects of this practice, and
- developing recommendations for the education of medical
students about the complications arising from FGC.
As part of the response to this Congressional directive, DHHS
established a work group, previously led by the Office of International and Refugee
Health, to develop strategies and a plan of action. DHHS OWH developed a task force to
develop recommendations on the physical and psychological complications from FGC.
This task force on FGC consulted with numerous health
professional organizations about their needs for training regarding FGC. Based on these
conversations, OWH awarded a contract to Research Action and Information for the Bodily
Integrity of Women (RAINB ) to develop training materials. RAINB is a non-profit
organization with extensive experience with FGC both in the U.S. and internationally.
These materials have been widely disseminated to health professional schools and
organizations including all schools of medicine, nursing and public health. An intensive
mailing list included international organizations, regional women’s health
coordinators, and congressional members.
The OWH also participated in the planning and coordination of
the FGC Community Outreach Working Group, and was an active partner in the planning and
coordination of the a Pilot Community Meeting on FGC held at Howard University for the
Washington metropolitan community. As a result of the success and lessons learned from
that meeting, several other community meetings were planned and coordinated across the
country with the assistance of the regional women’s health coordinators.
The OWH has recently re-invigorated its’ efforts in this
area, and now leads and coordinates the FGC Task Force. The Task Force is currently
focused on updating department-wide activities, planning next-steps, promoting information
sharing, and collaboration with groups that focus on FGC and its consequences to women.
The OWH contact person is Dr. Saralyn Mark.
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Gynecological
Cancer Educational Initiative for Health Professionals
The OWH named as a priority a project focused on gynecological cancers, including
ovarian cancer. To address this priority, the OWH together with the GCF and a task force
composed of representatives from the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF), OWH, NCI, and
OCNA have developed the content for a slide set. The set includes gynecologic cancer
statistics, risk factors, gynecologic cancer screening strategies, symptomotology,
practice guidelines, predominant standards, cancer genetics and unique gynecological
cancers such as DES related tumors and Gestational Trophoblastic Disease. The completed
slide set will be distributed to all members of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists
(SGO) and a vast number of other health organizations and the 141 medical schools. A
tracking form has been included with the slide set, which asks presenters to relay where
the set has been used.
The OWH contact person is Dr. Saralyn Mark.
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Ovarian Cancer
Initiative
The DHHS OWH Federal Multi-Agency Consortium on Imaging Technologies to Improve
Women’s Health co-sponsored an Advisory Council on Optical Technologies with the
National Cancer Institute in October 1997. The Council presented optical technologies as
possible add-ons to diagnostic endoscopic procedure. This combined technology shows
particular promise in evaluating the ovary during laparoscopy
The DHHS OWH in conjunction with the National Cancer
Institute and the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists sponsored the a Strategic Planning
Conference on New Directions in Ovarian Cancer Research, held in December 1997. There were
five working groups, including Basic/Translation Research, Genetic
Susceptibility/Prevention, Imaging/Screening/Diagnosis, and new and promising therapies.
The imaging/screening/diagnosis working group devised a prioritized research agenda for
state-of-the-art imaging to be incorporated into clinical trials. Over the past 2 years,
there have been several conferences, co-sponsored by the NCI, on recommendations developed
from this conference.
The OWH contact person is Dr. Saralyn Mark.
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