In 2021, Congress requested that NIH organize a conference to evaluate current research activities related to women's health and the following priority topics:
- Rising maternal morbidity and mortality rates (MMM)
- Increasing rates of chronic debilitating conditions in women (CDCW)
- Stagnant cervical cancer survival rates
ORWH and the Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health published a request for information (RFI) seeking comments from the scientific community, professional societies, and the public. The purpose of the RFI was to assist in identifying gaps in research and clinical practice pertaining to MMM, CDCW, and stagnant cervical cancer survival rates. The comments helped to inform the “Advancing NIH Research on the Health of Women: A 2021 Conference," which took place in October 2021. Thirty-two speakers discussed a wide range of topics related to research on women's health and the three priority topics listed above. Learn more about the conference here.
In addition, ORWH recently published the report, Perspectives of Advancing NIH Research to Inform and Improve the Health of Women. This report provides background on the public health needs of the three priority topics; current NIH activities in women's health research, MMM, chronic debilitating conditions, and cervical cancer; research gaps on the health of women; and research opportunities at NIH. The report also includes a meeting summary of the conference. Read the full report here.