The American Public Health Association,
Applauding the establishment of the Office for Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health; and
Recognizing that the General Accounting Office (GAO) recently reported that many research studies including clinical trials have excluded women from their study populations;1 and
Realizing that the emission of women leaves physicians uncertain whether new findings, for example, related to drug treatment can be extrapolated to their female patients;2 and
Noting that, in many scientific studies, gender differences are not analyzed and that the research funding levels of major diseases affecting women are inadequate;1,3-5 therefore
- Endorses the GAO recommendations that women be adequately represented in clinical trials and other study populations;
- Recommends that, among women, adequate attention and analysis must be given to key sub-populations: women of color, older women, and women with medical conditions that cause morbidity and mortality (e.g., breast cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, etc.);
- Encourages researchers to analyze all relevant study results by gender to determine whether different patterns of risk factor, disease, or different responses to treatment exist for women as compared to men;
- Recommends that there be more interdisciplinary women’s health research with programmatic overview;
- Encourages women to enter into and participate at all levels of health research to increase the potential for studies to adequately address women’s health issues;
- Recommends that participation in studies should be contigent upon full informed consent including discussion of possible reproductive risks; and
- Supports public policy changes that address these concerns including mandating inclusion of women in clinical trials, and increasing funding for diseases, conditions, or treatments where serious research gaps exists such as heart disease, osteoporosis, breast cancer, sex hormone therapy, etc.
References
- US General Accounting Office and National Institutes of Health: Problems Implementing Policy on Women in Study Populations. Washington, DC: NIH, June 18, 1990.
- Colton P: Is there still too much extrapolation from data on middle-aged White men? JAMA 1990;263:1049-1050.
- Women’s Health: Report of the Public Health Service Task Force on Women’s Health Issues, Volume II. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, US Public Health Service, 1985.
- Rodin J, Ickovics JR: Women’s Health: Review and agenda as we approach the 21st century. Am Psychol 1990;45:1018-1033.
- Eaker ED, Packard B, Wagner NK, Clarkson TB, Tyroler HA: Coronary Heart Disease in Women: Reviewing the Evidence and Identifying the Needs. A summary of the Proceedings. Bethesda, MD: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 1986;1-48.
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