SWHR Celebrates Equal Research Day, June 10

On June 10, 1993, Congress passed the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Revitalization Act of 1993, mandating that women and minorities be included in government-funded research. The Act also secured in statute the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH), which has been fundamental to upholding this research standard. Yet, success is an ever-moving target. Twenty-nine years after the NIH Revitalization Act was signed into law, SWHR is celebrating its passage—while recognizing what’s still left to be done in women’s health—during the inaugural Equal Research Day, on Friday, June 10.  

Prior to 1993, women were excluded from essentially all health research and clinical trials, and medical conclusions that were made based on testing male populations were often used for female treatment. But we know there can be immense health variability due to sex and gender, meaning there are significant differences in how and what health conditions manifest, risk of various diseases, and treatment responses in women versus men. Decades later, many of these differences are still not well understood, causing women’s health research to lag and outcomes to worsen. The disparities across certain diseases and conditions are significant:  

  • 80% of people with osteoporosis are women 
  • Two-thirds of people with Alzheimer’s disease are women 
  • 90% of women with sleep apnea go undiagnosed, just to name a few.  

Although remarkable progress has been made in women’s health research (check out some of it here), there is still much to be done. SWHR is proud to be the nonprofit partner for the first ever Equal Research Day, started by female-focused startup Evvy. Evvy created Equal Research Day to promote inclusive research, tell women’s health stories, and raise awareness for the gender gap health – combating the ways that women’s health is underfunded, under-researched, underdiagnosed, undervalued, and unequal.   

You can support SWHR this Equal Research Day by sharing this post and tagging @evvy and #EqualResearchDay. For every post shared, Evvy will donate $1 to the Society for Women’s Health Research (up to $1K). Further, all proceeds from Evvy’s Equal Research Day collection will go to SWHR. 

We hope you will join us for this inaugural event to amplify the importance of accelerating women’s health and to make the case for closing the sex gap in research!  

Learn more about Equal Research Day here. Learn more about the Society for Women’s Health Research here. #EqualResearchDay

 

This article also appeared on SWHR’s LinkedIn channel. 

 

The Society for Women’s Health Research does not make medical, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations, nor does it endorse or promote specific screening or diagnostic tests. Patients and consumers should consult a professional health care provider to discuss testing options and to determine individual needs. 

On June 10, 1993, Congress passed the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Revitalization Act of 1993, mandating that women and minorities be included in government-funded research. The Act also secured in statute the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH), which has been fundamental to upholding this research standard. Yet, success is an ever-moving target. Twenty-nine years after the NIH Revitalization Act was signed into law, SWHR is celebrating its passage—while recognizing what’s still left to be done in women’s health—during the inaugural Equal Research Day, on Friday, June 10.  

Prior to 1993, women were excluded from essentially all health research and clinical trials, and medical conclusions that were made based on testing male populations were often used for female treatment. But we know there can be immense health variability due to sex and gender, meaning there are significant differences in how and what health conditions manifest, risk of various diseases, and treatment responses in women versus men. Decades later, many of these differences are still not well understood, causing women’s health research to lag and outcomes to worsen. The disparities across certain diseases and conditions are significant:  

  • 80% of people with osteoporosis are women 
  • Two-thirds of people with Alzheimer’s disease are women 
  • 90% of women with sleep apnea go undiagnosed, just to name a few.  

Although remarkable progress has been made in women’s health research (check out some of it here), there is still much to be done. SWHR is proud to be the nonprofit partner for the first ever Equal Research Day, started by female-focused startup Evvy. Evvy created Equal Research Day to promote inclusive research, tell women’s health stories, and raise awareness for the gender gap health – combating the ways that women’s health is underfunded, under-researched, underdiagnosed, undervalued, and unequal.   

You can support SWHR this Equal Research Day by sharing this post and tagging @evvy and #EqualResearchDay. For every post shared, Evvy will donate $1 to the Society for Women’s Health Research (up to $1K). Further, all proceeds from Evvy’s Equal Research Day collection will go to SWHR. 

We hope you will join us for this inaugural event to amplify the importance of accelerating women’s health and to make the case for closing the sex gap in research!  

Learn more about Equal Research Day here. Learn more about the Society for Women’s Health Research here. #EqualResearchDay

 

This article also appeared on SWHR’s LinkedIn channel. 

 

The Society for Women’s Health Research does not make medical, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations, nor does it endorse or promote specific screening or diagnostic tests. Patients and consumers should consult a professional health care provider to discuss testing options and to determine individual needs. 

Read more about women’s health research and sex differences in science