Women's Health

The mission of WREI's project in women's health, established in 1992, is to:

• Gather, analyze, and disseminate information about health care, health insurance, and health policy issues affecting women and their families;
• Examine policy strategies to advance research about women’s health, improve health care delivery to women and their families, and assure affordable and universal health insurance;
• Form liaisons with existing networks of women and women’s health organizations working to improve women’s health care and health insurance status; and
• Promote the entry, training, equity of pay and benefits, and advancement of women in the health professions.

Improving the Health of Midlife Women: Policy Options for the 21st Century, one of WREI’s most recent report, examines the gaps in health research and insurance, and in diagnosing, treating, and preventing disease—especially chronic disease—in women aged 45–64. WREI recommends 50 steps that Congress and the Administration can take to close these gaps. As the millions of baby boomers age, prevention or early intervention can reduce the long-term costs in dollars, as well as in human suffering, of such diseases as diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, and arthritis.

Other reports produced under this project include A Guide to Federal Funding in Women's Health, The Health of Mid-Life Women in the States, The Health Status of Women of Color (out of print), Assessing and Improving Women’s Health, and Women’s Health Insurance Costs and Experiences.