Senate Recognizes NIH ORWH Contribution to Women’s Health

On December 6, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, a resolution (S. Res. 695) “recognizing the 20th anniversary of the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health and the continuing leadership and achievements of the Office on Women’s Health in conducting and supporting biomedical research to improve women’s health.”

Sponsored by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:

• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) is a leader in the national commitment to research, research training, and science-based education programs on women’s health and sex differences research;
• The ORWH was originally established in 1990 in response to congressional, scientific, and advocacy concerns regarding the lack of systemic and consistent inclusion of women in NIH-funded clinical research and the lack of scientific data and information regarding women’s health;
• The ORWH has made significant progress in developing and implementing policies to ensure the inclusion of women in NIH clinical research and, in this manner, has encouraged the increased reporting in scientific literature of sex- and gender-related factors in health and clinical trial analysis;
• The ORWH pursues research efforts to benefit all individuals burdened by diseases and disorders that are within the scope of the mission of the ORWH, including men, women, older and younger adults, children, minority populations who are disproportionately affected by certain diseases, people from economically-disadvantaged backgrounds, and other understudied or underrepresented populations;
• Research conducted and supported by the ORWH has been instrumental in revolutionizing policies, research, and programs focusing on health, prevention, diagnostic, and treatment strategies for girls, women, and their families, leading to remarkable improvements in health and quality of life; and
• The ORWH has a farsighted research agenda for the next decade entitled “Moving Into the Future With New Dimensions and Strategies: A Vision for 2020 for Women’s Health Research” that is based on the culmination of a two-year strategic planning process, involving more than 1,500 leading scientists, advocates for women’s health, public policy experts, health care providers, federal, state, and local elected officials, and the general public in five regional scientific meetings.

The resolution “commends the ORWH for its leadership in women’s health research, research training, and science-based education programs…recognizes ORWH-supported scientists whose studies have improved women’s health and whose research continues to yield promising discoveries…and reaffirms the support of the Senate for the ORWH and the continued commitment of the ORWH to carrying out research to improve women’s health.”