Data Book Focuses attention on women's health issues

Abstract

W ith the publication this month of the second edition of The Women’s Health Data Book, The Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health continues a valued service to the community of health care providers, researchers, and policymakers concerned with women’s health issues. No other resource is available that compiles current, comprehensive information about U.S. women’s health from a variety of national data sets and presents the data in so accessible a format. The first edition of the Data Book’ made women’s health visible and vividly illustrated that women’s health issues extend beyond the traditional focus on reproductive health. The Data Book clearly documented the range of women’s health problems, including both conditions shared with men and conditions unique to women, and discussed key risk factors for these conditions. It defined violence against women as a health problem. It showed how health problems are distributed within the female population by age groups and by racial and ethnic backgrounds. It documented the particular problems women have in accessing health care, including both financial and nonfinancial barriers to services. Finally, it summarized the scope and limitations of national data sets with regard to women’s health information. The new edition of the Data Book, which provides updated information on all topics covered in the first edition, appears at a critical time in the movement to improve women’s health. In the last few years, there has been growing support for an expanded women’s health research agenda, as exemplified in the Women’s Health Initiative. Although much of the emphasis has been on biomedical research, providers are becoming increasingly aware of the need to improve the delivery of health services for women. Our job today is to maintain the momentum and clarify the issues of women’s access to appropriate health services. In the recent attempt at national health care reform, women’s health care needs were not a clearly articulated component of the debate, but much was at stake for women.’ As the Data Book points out, women are less likely than men to have health insurance through their own employment and more likely than men to be dependent on public insurance including Medicaid. Due to no or inadequate insurance coverage, many women, especially low-income women, are unable to obtain the health care they neede3 In addition, average