You may have noticed last time you got a mammogram that your facility uses digital imaging rather than traditional X-ray film. Why is that? And, is there any benefit to the newer techniques? In 2009, when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) reviewed the evidence and updated its recommendations on breast cancer screening, it … Continued
Who wouldn’t? It’s election time again, and the National Women’s Health Network is inviting nominations for our board of directors. All NWHN members will have a chance to vote for the new board during the Spring 2014 elections. We are seeking candidates who understand and agree with the NWHN’s mission and goals and who are … Continued
Early this year, I heard Sophia’s story, and it has stuck with me ever since. Sophia is an undocumented Latina immigrant living in Texas. Because of her immigration status, she is locked out of our health care system. Neither her nor her husband’s employer offers health insurance and, although Sophia’s family would qualify for Medicaid … Continued
G SPOTS In 2011, chef Michel Nischan started a non-profit called “Wholesome Wave,” that provides redeemable prescriptions for fresh food at New York City farmers’ markets. Nischan started the group to promote access to fresh food after helping his sons control their Type 2 diabetes through healthy diets. Participants get $1 a day for everyone … Continued
Heart disease – also called cardiovascular disease (CVD) — is the leading cause of death in the United States for both women and men, affecting 75 million Americans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 800,000 Americans die every year from CVD.i The risks to men are more widely known, with the … Continued
The National Women’s Health Network (NWHN) was founded in 1975, at a time when many women’s health activists felt encouraged by the changes they saw in reproductive health care. The organization’s early years coincided with the start of the modern era of legal abortion in the United States. Following the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v … Continued
The use of home testing kits for Chlamydia and gonorrhea could help overcome barriers to STD testing and help get people treated faster. The L.A. County Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) Program’s “I Know” campaign encouraged women to order a free home STD testing kits and get their results either online or by phone. The program … Continued
The Network never shies away from tough issues – whether it’s challenging the dangerous over-promotion of menopause hormone therapy to healthy women, or calling for universal health care. This issue of the newsletter includes articles on several issues we’re working on right now – and some of them are definitely tough. At the heart of … Continued
That’s the question a workshop facilitator posed to a group that included Tina Fey, who then related the following in her book, Bossypants: The group of women was racially and economically diverse, but the answers had a very similar theme. Almost everyone first realized they were becoming a grown woman when some dude did something … Continued
As an African woman, I come from a place where sexual and reproductive health is not explicitly discussed or confronted like it is here. I’ve long struggled to understand the ways that issues and concepts like Reproductive Justice, Reproductive Health, and Reproductive Rights fit together and interact within the women’s health movement. So, I was … Continued