Abstract
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NIDA and NIAAA Program Announcement on Women and Sex/Gender Differences
The National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism have extended the expiration date for three program announcements on Women and Sex/Gender Differences in Drug and Alcohol Abuse/Dependence from May 8, 2010 to September 8, 2010. The extensions apply to (R01) - PA-07-329, (R21) - PA-07-330, and (R03) - PA-07-331. Areas of research interest include mechanisms and origins of sex/gender in the basic behavioral, biological, and genetic mechanisms underlying drug abuse and dependence; and laboratory, epidemiological, and clinical studies of sex/gender differences in the determinants of initiation, progression, and maintenance of drug use and dependence; the consequences and impact of drug use, abuse, and addiction following acute use and chronic use, as well as residual effects following prolonged abstinence, and examining drug-related consequences that are unique to females; and prevention and treatment.
UN Launches Global Effort on Women's Health
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the development of a Joint Action Plan for accelerating progress on maternal and newborn health. He urged governments, foundations, businesses, and UN agencies to work together to create a seamless continuum of care that would improve women's health from pregnancy through childbirth. The UN reported that hundreds of thousands of women and girls die in pregnancy or childbirth every year, and another 10 million to 15 million suffer severe or long-lasting illnesses or disabilities caused by complications. The Secretary-General convened a meeting of key partners in April to develop concrete actions to advance the plan, which links women's rights with safe motherhood and child survival. “The fight for women's rights is central to the United Nations global mission,” Ki-moon said on International Women's Day. “Death in childbirth is still too common, and too few women have access to family planning. Violence against women remains a global shame.”
Women More Likely Than Men to Consult Web for Health Information
Women aged 18 to 64 years were more likely than men to seek health information online: 58% vs 43.4%, according to data collected from 7,192 adults participating in the National Health Interview Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 3% of adults had sought information from a chat group in the past year, and again, women were more likely than men to discuss health topics in a chat room: 4.1% compared with 2.5% of men. The researchers also found that women were more likely to request a prescription refill online: 6.6% compared to 5.3% of men; make an appointment with a healthcare provider using the Internet: 3.5% vs 1.8%; and communicate via email with a healthcare provider: 5.6% compared to 4.2% of men.
CDC Reports on Racial and Ethnic Differences in Women's Decisions About Breastfeeding
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data about breastfeeding initiation and duration for children born from 2003 to 2006 and found most states did not meet the Healthy People 2010 targets for breastfeeding, namely that 75% of women will begin to breastfeed, 50% will still be breastfeeding at age 6 months, and 25% will be breastfeeding at 12 months. But the national estimates were 73.4%, 41.7%, and 21%, respectively, with variations because of race, participation in the Women, Infants, and Children supplemental nutrition program, and the mother's age and education. The CDC found a lower prevalence of breastfeeding initiation among non-Hispanic blacks than non-Hispanic whites in all but two states—Minnesota and Rhode Island. In addition, Hispanics generally had lower prevalence than non-Hispanic whites in western states and higher in eastern states. In 13 states, the CDC found a variation of at least 20 percentage points between non-Hispanic blacks and non-Hispanic whites who were breastfeeding, with the largest differences in the Southeastern United States.
Hold the Date
The Association of American Medical Colleges will hold its annual meeting November 5–10, 2010, in Washington, D.C. The organization expects that a preliminary program, registration forms, and housing information will be available in July.
FDA Calls Attention to Pregnancy Exposure Registry
With approximately 64% of pregnant women prescribed one or more drugs during pregnancy, excluding vitamins and minerals, yet with little known regarding the use of medicines during pregnancy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reminds healthcare providers about its pregnancy exposure registry Web site, which collects health information from women who take medicines and vaccines when they are pregnant. The FDA Office of Women's Health updates the registry on an ongoing basis. The registries are divided into two categories: registries specific to a medical condition/disease and registries that are product specific. The pregnancy exposure registries provide pregnancy and fetal outcomes data and clinically relevant human data that have the potential to improve product labeling and enable healthcare practitioners to better inform women about prescription drug use while pregnant. This consumer Web site is relevant to any healthcare provider and can also be used to encourage pregnant women to participate in pregnancy exposure registries. The FDA pregnancy exposure registry is the only Web site that lists all pregnancy registries in one easy-to-use location.
Insurance Rescissions for Women with Breast Cancer Prompt HHS to Call on Insurers to “Do the Right Thing”
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent a letter to WellPoint urging the company to end its practice of dropping the health coverage of women with breast cancer through the process of rescission, after media reports outlined that the company specifically targeted women with the cancer for aggressive investigations with the intent to cancel their policies. This fall, provisions in the Affordable Care Act will ban such rescissions, except in cases of blatant misrepresentation or fraud. The secretary asked the insurer not to wait to end the practice and to immediately cease trying to rescind health insurance coverage for patients who most need it. In a response to Sebelius, WellPoint denied singling out women with breast cancer and highlighted its prevention programs, such as covering mammograms for members age 40 and older and collaborations with other organizations. Less than one week later, WellPoint announced that it would implement the federal rescission policy effective May 1, 2010. The next day, HHS announced that UnitedHealthcare would join with other insurers and stop using rescissions. “The days when insurers can drop coverage when patients get sick are coming to an end, but insurers don't need to wait to do the right thing,” said Secretary Sebelius. “Americans need to be secure in knowing that their health coverage will be there when they need it most. That is why we are working hard to get the benefits of the Affordable Care Act to families everywhere as quickly as possible.”
Reproductive Health 2010 Scheduled for September
The Planned Parenthood® Federation of America, the Society of Family Planning, and the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals will present the conference Reproductive Health 2010 from September 22–25, 2010 in Atlanta. The conference will cover reproductive health conditions, effective communication and counseling skills when dealing with reproductive health issues, and applying scientific research to clinical practice.
CDC Releases Information About Marriage and Cohabitation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics has released information from the Continuous National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle 6, conducted in 2002, in regard to marriage and cohabitation. About 46% of women aged 15 to 44 were married, and 9% were cohabiting—living with a man in a sexual relationship. Forty-two percent of the men were married, and 9% were cohabiting. The team found variations in sexual relationships among races, education, and family background. For instance, people with a bachelor's degree or higher were more likely than people who did not graduate from high school to be married: 63% for women with a bachelor's degree compared to 49% of women with no high school diploma or graduate equivalency diploma. Those with no high school diploma or graduate equivalency diploma were more likely to cohabit than other people: 17% for women with no diploma, 11% for women with a high school diploma, 8% for those with some college, and 5% for women with a bachelor's degree or higher. Non-Hispanic white women were most likely to be married—51%—followed by 45% of Hispanic women, and 26% of non-Hispanic black women. Non-Hispanic black women were much less likely to have ever married than non-Hispanic white or Hispanic women but were about as likely to have cohabited. Twenty-seven percent of the women aged 40 to 44 years had been married two or more times. Two thirds of first marriages lasted 10 years or more.
Menopause Meeting Scheduled for October
The North American Menopause Society will hold its 21st annual meeting—Transition and Change: The Future Is Upon Us—October 6–9, 2010, in Chicago. The society promises to present cutting-edge science and clinical pearls that physicians can put into practice immediately. A pre-meeting session about abnormal uterine bleeding is planned for Wednesday, October 6.
British Society Issues Vulvodynia Guidelines
The British Society for the Study of Vulval Diseases Guideline Group issued evidence-based guidelines for managing vulvodynia—vaginal discomfort or burning with no identifiable cause. The guidelines call for evaluating the symptoms and how they affect the patient, and completing a sexual history if patients complain of pain during intercourse. Physicians can make the diagnosis based on clinical presentation. Patients should be evaluated for pelvic floor muscle dysfunction. The guidelines indicate a team approach: consultation with experts from psychosexual medicine, physical therapy, and pain management may be needed to manage the condition. Treatment may include desensitization of the pelvic floor muscles, acupuncture, and intralesional injections and may require combinations of treatments and clear instructions to the patient. Typically a holistic approach is best. In women with vestibulodynia that has not responded to conservative treatment, physicians can consider surgical excision of the vestibule.
UN Launches Girl Up Campaign
The United Nations Foundation launched the Girl Up campaign June 1, 2010, to help raise the awareness among American girls about the world's most vulnerable adolescent girls. Participants are encouraged to give a “High Five”—a $5 contribution to provide clean water, health services, and other basic needs to some of the more than 600 million girls growing up in developing countries. Many of them live in poverty, suffer from gender discrimination, and are subject to violence, abuse, and exploitation. The UN Adolescent Girls Task Force aims to work with governments, communities, and adolescents to educate adolescent girls, improve their access to healthcare and nutritional services, keep them free from violence, promote girl leaders, and collect data that will be used to advocate for and develop policies and programs to advance adolescent girls' well-being and human rights.
Etta D. Pisano, M.D., Assumes Dean Position at MUSC
The Medical University of South Carolina appointed Etta D. Pisano, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine, effective July 1, 2010. She is the first female dean to lead the college and one of only about a dozen female medical school deans in the country. Pisano has been a faculty member at the University of North Carolina for more than 20 years and serves as vice dean for academic affairs at the School of Medicine. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Duke University School of Medicine. Recognized as one of the top 10 experts in women's imaging, she has received numerous National Institutes of Health grants.
U.S. News & World Report Ranks Top Medical Schools for Women's Health
U.S. News & World Report ranked the top medical schools for women's health as part of its annual analysis of graduate programs. The magazine's top 10 medical schools for women's health are Harvard University (Boston); University of California–San Francisco; University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia); Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore); University of Pittsburgh; Duke University (Durham, NC); Columbia University (New York); Yale University (New Haven, CT); University of Washington (Seattle); University of Michigan (Ann Arbor); and University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.