OHSU's First Women's Health Policy Summit Prompts Solutions, Plans for Action

PORTLAND, Ore. — Why should you be concerned about the state of Oregon women’s health?

According to a group of legislators, health professionals, students and activists, the reasons are numerous—women are increasingly marginalized by health policies, there is a lack of general knowledge on women’s health—and varied. But this group, brought together at Oregon Health & Science University’s first Women’s Health Policy Summit, also seemed to be cognizant of reasons for concern on a much larger scale.

“The health of women affects the health of society, because women often have the burden of being the caretakers of society,” Jeffrey Jensen, M.D., M.P.H., said to attendees on Friday, Oct. 20, the first day of the two-day summit. Jensen, Leon Speroff professor of obstetrics & gynecology at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), joined other OHSU professors and national health experts in outlining concerns in women’s health. The experts, and many attendees, agreed that current state of women’s health policy is not only failing to satisfactorily meet the health needs of all women, but that such unsatisfactory policies have consequences which reach into nearly all sectors of the population.

After the experts presented specific concerns, panelists responded, followed by workgroups of all attendees to suggest further areas and ways to address the issues raised. The information and suggested paths of action culled from these groups will help lay the foundation for the continuing work of the Center for Women’s Health Policy Advisory Towards Health for women(PATH for women), the group that presented the event.

Michelle Berlin, M.D., M.P.H., director PATH for women said that “the broad spectrum of concerns and solutions suggested” is currently being transcribed and evaluated for the purpose of expanding and directing the purpose of PATH for women, which looks to provide research and education concerning the state of women’s health, instead of lobbying or advocating for specific policies. The full scope of the results and consequences of the gathered information will continue to come to light in the coming weeks.

In addition to providing information for PATH for women, the summit also provided an avenue for the facilitation of interaction between “people who don’t usually talk to each—it brought diverse folks together,” Berlin, associate professor of obstetrics & gynecology, public health and preventive medicine, said, referring to the panels which were comprised of city and state legislators, activists and health experts.

The summit focused on three topics: care before, during and after pregnancy; healthy aging; and mental health. These topics fall within areas identified by United States Department of Health & Human Services and other governmental and nongovernmental agencies as fundamentally important to women’s health.

Jeanne-Marie Guise, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of obstetrics & gynecology, division of maternal fetal medicine, spoke about the State Obstetric & Pediatric Research Collaboration (STORC), a program that aims to improve maternal and neonatal health through innovations in research, technology and training techniques. This project, of which Guise is the director, exemplifies what many of the speakers and panelists called for—additional women-based research and knowledge that is translated into the effective improvement in the quality of care for women.

In addition to Jensen and Guise, local speakers included David Pollack, M.D., professor of psychiatry, and Emily Eckstrom, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of general internal medicine and geriatrics.

National health experts who attended the event included:

• Hani Atrash, M.D., M.P.H., associate director for program development, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  
• Rosaly Correa-de-Araujo, M.D., M.Sc., Ph. D., director, America’s Office of the Secretary, Office of Global Health Affairs
  
• Nancy C. Raymond, M.D., director, University of Minnesota Center of Excellence in Women’s Health
  
• For more information on PATH for women, including information from the Women’s Health Policy Summit, visit www.ohsuwomenshealth.com/path.

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Policy Advisory Towards Health for women (PATH for women) was established by the Oregon Health & Science University’s Center for Women’s Health in response to the critical need for current, evidence-based information to develop health policy about women’s health. Through PATH for women’s work with legislators and other policymakers, the importance of convening a Women’s Health Policy Summit became clear. The summit brought together researchers, policymakers and interested citizens (?) to focus on topics key to the health of women in Oregon.

Back to Summit details. Read more about PATH for women.