Working
Groups and Other Committees
Female Genital
Cutting (FGC) Taskforce
The U.S. Congress has directed HHS 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, HHS
established a work group, previously led by the Office of International and Refugee
Health, to develop strategies and a plan of action. HHS 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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Minority
Women’s Health Panel of Experts
OWH has created a Minority Women’s Health Panel of Experts comprised of expert
health professionals representing the African-American, American Indian/Alaska Native,
Asian American and Pacific Islanders, and Latino communities. This panel serves as a
resource for the OWH for the development of strategies that address diversity in health
needs and inconsistencies in health care delivery for women across our country, as well as
ensuring that the minority concerns are addressed in OWH programs and initiatives. The
panel was created after a series of national conferences on the health issues of minority
women, including the OWH conference, " Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Partnerships to
Improve Minority Women’s Health".
The mission of the Minority Women’s Health Panel of
Experts is:
- To provide input to and serve as a resource for the OWH, in
the development of minority women’s health initiatives;
- To provide input to the Department of Health and Human
Services on Departmental/Secretarial initiatives; and
- To provide input on recommendations that address OWH or HHS
initiatives from the 1997 conference.
The OWH contact person for the OWH Minority Women's Health
Panel is Francess Ashe-Goins
For a full listing of the OWH
Minority Women’s Health Panel of Experts, click here.
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Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health
The HHS Coordinating Committee on Women's Health was established to advise the Assistant
Secretary for Health and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health (Women's Health) on
current and planned activities across HHS that would safeguard and improve the physical
and mental health of all women in the United States. The Coordinating Committee is
co-chaired by Dr. Wanda K. Jones, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health (Women's
Health). The Committee's members include senior-level representatives from each of the
federal agencies and offices within the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Coordinating Committee on Women's Health has established
a Working Group on HIV/AIDS and Women. This Working Group is composed of representatives
from the U.S. Public Health Service's agencies and HHS offices and regional offices. It
serves as a resource for initiating activities to address HIV/AIDS in women. It also
proposes potential collaborations and partnerships to facilitate the development and
implementation of HIV/AIDS projects and programs that will focus on women.
Click here for a full listing of
the members of the HHS Coordinating Committee on Women’s Health.
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Healthy
People 2010 Women’s Health Working Group
The Office on Women's Health (OWH), in conjunction with the PHS Coordinating Committee,
was asked by the ODPHP to organize and coordinate women's health objectives for the
Healthy People 2010 plan. Women's health representatives from across HHS worked on the 26
focus areas. Several meetings were held with these representatives to review the status of
the HP 2000 objectives, suggest new or revised objectives, and to suggest data gaps for
new data collection. The results of these efforts has led to over 200 objectives that will
be tracked in HP2010 for women and girls. A Healthy People Women's Health Companion
Document is in preparation to highlight these objectives. The OWH contact is Dr. Suzanne Haynes.
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Organ
and Tissue Donation Initiative
The Office on Women’s Health (OWH) is a member of the Organ Donation
Initiative Work Group of the National Organ and Tissue Donation Initiative as well as the
Task Force on Minority Organ and Tissue Donation. For more information, please contact Joanna Short.
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Collaborative
Group on Women and HIV/AIDS
The Office on Women's Health (OWH) in the Department of Health and Human Services
coordinates the Collaborative Group on Women and HIV/AIDS, which consists of
representatives from national and local women's organizations, Public Health Services'
(PHS) women's health coordinators, Health and Human Services; (HHS ) HIV/AIDS
coordinators, representatives from national AIDS organizations, those affected by
HIV/AIDS, and representatives from health care organizations. This group was formed to
explore issues critical to women with HIV/AIDS, and to propose potential collaborations
and partnerships to address the ongoing epidemic of HIV/AIDS in the lives of American
women. This group meets twice a year.
View the list of
facilitators
During the interim, working groups meet via monthly
conference calls, which are chaired by community leaders and facilitated by OWH. These
groups are:
- Co-chairs Work Group
- Research Work Group
The Research Work Group, in collaboration Healthy African American Families II (Los
Angeles, CA) is identifying and compiling information and resources on gender-specific
research, particularly as related to women and HIV/AIDS. A final written report containing
an analysis of the findings and an outline of contents for a research guide will be
produced.
- Primary Prevention and Education Work Group
The Primary Prevention and Education Work Group, in collaboration with the
Empowerment Program for Women (Denver, CO), providing results of focus groups with women
that describe women-specific HIV prevention service to community-based organizations
(CBOs) AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs), and other agencies in rural and urban
communities that may want to improve and/or expand these services for women.
- Secondary Prevention and Education Work Group
The Secondary Prevention and Education Work Group, in collaboration with Damien
Ministries, Inc. (Washington, DC), is conducting focus groups in rural and urban settings
to assess the secondary prevention and care service needs of women living with HIV/AIDS. A
final report containing an analysis of the findings will be produced.
- Care and Treatment Work Group
The Care and Treatment Work Group, in Collaboration with A.C.E.-Out, Inc. (New
York, NY), is conducting a follow-up assessment of published studies and reports
documenting barriers to current healthcare and treatment services for women living with
HIV/AIDS; identifying gaps in HIV care and treatment services; and conducting an
educational campaign to inform local and national HIV/AIDS policy organizations of the
care and treatment needs of women with HIV/AIDS. A final report of project activities will
be produced.
- Young Women and HIV/AIDS Work Group
The Young Women and HIV/AIDS Work Group, in collaboration with the Office on
Women's Health headquarters staff and Regional Women's Health Coordinators are planning
three regional Young Women's Health Summit conference as a follow-up to the First National
Summit held in 2000. In 2001, young women will share what their health promotion projects
are and how they implemented them in their respective communities.
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Federal
Interagency Working Group on Women's Health and the Environment
There is abundant evidence that environmental factors contribute to many diseases
in women, including breast and ovarian cancers, osteoporosis, endometriosis, uterine
fibroids and autoimmune diseases. The Office on Women's Health (OWH) established the
Federal Interagency Working Group on Women's Health and the Environment in 1994 to bring a
focal point for action in the area of women's health and the environment. The Interagency
Working Group consists of more than 40 representatives from Federal agencies and offices,
including the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Labor and Department of
Defense. Its mission is to address the environmental and often preventable threats to
women's health. Specifically, the Interagency Working Group has two goals.
- To discuss ongoing activities in research, information
dissemination and outreach, health care services, training, and public policy related to
women's health and the environment;
- To identify gaps and stimulate the planning and implementation
of future activities to address identified needs.
The Interagency Working Group organized a Conference entitled
"Women's Health and the Environment: Innovations in Science and Policy" in
September 1998. The conference generated recommendations for policy, communication and
training, and research to be considered by the federal government. A review article was
published in the Journal of Women's Health & Gender-Based Medicine in April 2000.
Four subcommittees were initially formed to carry out the
Interagency Working Group's initiatives up to the year 2000:
- The Subcommittee on the Inventory of Federal Activities on
Women's Health in the Environment created an inventory that provides researchers, policy
makers, and the general public with an informational guide to current Federal agency
research, services, policies, and training related to women's health and the environment.
The inventory can be found at http://www.4woman.gov/nwhic/env/combined1.htm
- The Subcommittee on Environmental Hormones developed the
Survey on Conventional, Complementary and Alternative Menopausal Practices Survey (CAMPS)
to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices of women, ages 45 and older,
with regard to menopause and conditions related to menopause, and to include an assessment
of environmental influences, such as pharmacological, behavioral, and alternative
therapies and practice. The survey data and results are to be published in the Journal of
the American Medical Association in the Spring of 2001.
- The Subcommittee on Occupational Health investigated
muscle-skeletal disorders at the workplace and led to an on-going effort to determine the
appropriateness of personal protective equipment for women.
- The work of the Subcommittee on Environmental Exposures gave
rise to a "Breast Cancer Clusters" workshop in December 1998. The goal of the
workshop was to define, examine, and address approaches to investigating and responding to
high rate areas of breast cancer. The proceedings, recommendations, and a review article
are to be published in 2001.
Six subcommittees have been formed to carry out the Working
Group's initiatives for the year 2000 and beyond:
- The Subcommittee on Breastfeeding developed the HHS Blueprint
for Action on Breastfeeding, released October, 2000 by the Surgeon General. The Blueprint,
the first breastfeeding policy for the Nation, focuses attention on the importance of
breastfeeding and recommends action steps for the health care system, families, the
community, researchers and the workplace to promote breastfeeding.
- The Subcommittee on Asthma will focus on occupational adult
asthma and consider the programmatic and policy needs to address women's health issues.
- The Subcommittee on Autoimmune Diseases in women will focus on
the following diseases: Chronic Active Hepatitis, Multiple Sclerosis, Myasthenia Gravis,
Primary Biliary Cirrhois, Scleroderma, Sjogren's, Systemic Lupus Erythromatosus, and
Thyroid Disease. They plan to review existing policies and programs addressing health
issues related to autoimmune conditions and diseases and identify gaps in these areas.
- The Subcommittee on Reproductive Health will focus on the
environmental etiology of fibroids, endometriosis, and the role of silicone breasts
implants on childhood disorders. The Subcommittee will also be a contributing working
group for the "A Longitudinal Cohort Study of Environmental Effects on Child Health
and Development".
- The Subcommittee on Dietary Supplements will explore and
identify key issues in the areas of safety of products, availability of accurate public
information, and generate recommendations for potential projects that can help consumers
better understand the arena of dietary supplements.
- One of the major activities of the Subcommittee on Pesticides
will be to publish a review paper covering what is currently known about women's pesticide
exposure by reviewing data from NCHS databases.
The Federal Interagency Working Group on Women's Health and
the Environment is chaired by Suzanne G.
Haynes, Ph.D., Senior Advisor for Science.
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