Spotlight on Healthcare Equity

Spotlight on Healthcare Equity: The Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR)

Did you know that until the 1990s women were actively excluded from participating in clinical trials and most medical research? This longtime bias put the health of women at risk and created a huge gap in knowledge about women’s health and the role that differences between women and men play in health and disease.

Thanks to advocacy by the SWHR and other groups, Congress passed The National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993, mandating the inclusion of women and underrepresented groups in NIH-funded clinical trials. In the same year, the FDA changed its policies to require the inclusion of women in efficacy studies and in the analysis of data on sex differences.

The SWHR is a national thought leader dedicated to advancing women’s health and promoting research on sex differences to optimize women’s health. This organization plays a critical role in identifying clinical and research gaps; raising awareness of diseases, conditions, and life stages that differently, disproportionately, or exclusively affect women; and promoting policies that could positively shape health outcomes for women. Over its more than 30-year history, SWHR has been advancing women’s health through its core functions of science, policy, and education.

In addition to housing a large database of programmatic and policy resources, SWHR also hosts the Women’s Health Perspectives series, which includes firsthand accounts of individuals’ personal health care and/or caregiving experiences. Recent featured stories include topics such as Endometriosis, Menopause, Breast Cancer, PCOS, and Uterine Fibroids.

Access the Women’s Health Perspectives series and learn how you can share your story here.