Mission Statement
To raise awareness of the impact of bladder health on women’s well-being across the lifespan. Since unhealthy bladders disproportionately affect women and girls the Network aims to:
- Review current information and identify knowledge gaps and make recommendations to inform research, policy, and education.
- Raise awareness through advocacy among agencies, patient advocacy groups and medical societies.
- Promote education among health care providers, educators, and the general public.
“It is critical that we advance the field of women’s health in urology. While often thought of as a “quality of life” issue in the past, current leaders in our field recognize that urinary incontinence and lower urinary tract symptoms are linked directly to cardiac disease, diabetes, depression, and musculoskeletal problems.”
– Elizabeth R. Mueller, MD, MSME. FACS, Professor, Departments of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Urology, & SWHR Urology Network Chair
Current Members
- Elizabeth Mueller, MD, MSME, Loyola University (Network Chair)
- Margot Damaser, PhD, Cleveland Clinic (Network Co-Chair)
- Cindy Amundsen, MD, Duke University
- Toby Chai, MD, Yale University
- Clare Close, MD, Close Pediatric Urology
- Michael DiSanto, PhD, Rowan University
- Matthew Fraser, PhD, Duke University
Contact
science@swhr.org
- Stephanie Kielb, MD, Northwestern University
- George Kuchel, MD, University of Connecticut
- Mary Palmer, PhD, RN, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Candace Parker-Autry, MD, Wake Forest University
- Alan Wolfe, PhD, Loyola University
Peer-Reviewed Publications
- Abelson and Sun et. al., “Sex Differences in Lower Urinary Tract Biology and Physiology.” Biology of Sex Differences, 2018 Oct 22;9(1):45. PMID: 30343668
- Losada et al., “Expert Panel Recommendations on Lower Urinary Tract Health of Women across their Lifespan.” Journal of Women’s Health 25, no. 11(2016): 1086-1096. PMID: 27285829
- Mueller et al., “Letter to the Editor: Women’s Urological Health as a Priority to the Woman Well Visit.” Women’s Health Issues 26, no. 4 (2016): 476-477. PMID: 27448751
Media
- Should teachers be allowed to limit students’ bathroom use?, Today.com, March 8, 2019
- Schools Are Restricting Kids’ Bathroom Breaks And It’s Affecting Their Health, Scary Mommy, March 2, 2019
- When Schools Tell Kids They Can’t Use the Bathroom, The Atlantic, February 26, 2019
- School restrooms are a public health problem, The Week, January 20, 2019
- Doctor Radio: Interview with SWHR Network member Dr, Clare Close, December 20, 2018
- Most Schools Don’t Have Clear Restroom Policies, and That’s a Public Health Problem, Pacific Standard, December 4, 2018
Blog Posts
- Find Your Health: SWHR’s Healthy Habits for Women, May 12, 2019
- Shining a Spotlight on Women’s Bladder Health, April 29, 2019
- Survey of School Nurses Reveals Lack of Bathroom Policies and Bladder Health Education, November 26, 2018
- More Than Just Anatomy: Sex Differences in the Lower Urinary Tract, October 22, 2018
- One More Mom-To-Teenage-Daughter Talk: The School Bathroom, Dr. Clare Close, November 21, 2016
- What is a Healthy Bladder?, Dr. Toby Chai and Dr. Candace Parker-Autry, February 4, 2016
- School Bathroom Habits Impact Life-Long Bladder Health: Opening the Door to the Girls’ Room, Dr. Clare Close, October 9, 2015
Presentations and Symposia
- Slide Deck: Urinary Incontinence: For Some, A Fate Worse Than Death
- School Nurses Experience of Toileting Behaviors in American School: A Survey of Members of the National Association of School Nurses. Poster. Presented at American Urogynecologic Society’s Pelvic Floor Disorders Week, Chicago, IL, October 10, 2018. Authors: Elizabeth R. Mueller, Rebecca Nebel, Mary H Palmer, Cara J Joyce, Clare E Close
- Urological Health in Women Across the Lifespan: An Interdisciplinary Research Network. Poster. Presented at the 2017 Innovating for Continence Conference, Chicago, IL, April 20-21, 2017. Authors: Rebecca Nebel and Monica Mallampalli
- Raising Awareness of Bladder Health in Our Schools: Engaging our School Nurses. Webinar. Presented at the Prevention of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (PLUS) Research Consortium meeting, November 2, 2016. Presenters: Clare Close and Elizabeth R. Mueller
- Urological Health in Women Across the Lifespan: An Interdisciplinary Research Network. Presented at the 2nd International Congress on Underactive Bladder – CURE UAB, Denver, CO, December 3-4, 2015. Authors: Liliana Losada and Monica P. Mallampalli
- Urological Health in Women Across the Lifespan. Presented at the 23rd Women’s Health Congress, Washington, DC, April 14-17, 2015. Authors: Monica P. Mallampalli and Christine L. Carter
Sponsorship of this network does not imply agreement with any content and/or comments presented by the members during network proceedings.
