Jennifer Gerson
GovExec.com
Originally posted 19 March 24
President Joe Biden on Monday signed an executive order directing the most comprehensive set of actions ever taken by the president’s office to expand and improve research on women’s health. In a statement, the president and First Lady Jill Biden also announced more than 20 new actions and commitments by a wide range of federal agencies for research on issues that emerge across a woman’s lifespan, from maternal health outcomes and mental health challenges to autoimmune diseases and menopause.
The announcement follows the November creation of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, led by Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council. Currently, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spends only 10.8% of its overall funding on women’s health research, a figure that includes conditions specific to women and those that predominantly affect women.
Congress first ordered the NIH to include women in clinical trials in 1993; in 2016, the NIH strengthened its own standards so that its grantees must justify if women are not included in any specific clinical trial and explain how any effects on women will be studied and analyzed. Monday’s announcement seeks to ensure that this same kind of accountability is applied to every federal research program.
Jennifer Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council, told The 19th that with Monday’s announcement, the Biden administration is seeking to close existing research gaps when it comes to women’s health so that women’s experiences with the health care system can be changed for the better.
Here is my summary:
President Joe Biden recently signed a significant executive order focused on women's health, marking a historic move towards advancing women's healthcare research. The order includes over 20 new actions and commitments across various federal agencies, aiming to address research gaps in women's health. Key components of the order involve prioritizing women's health research, strengthening data standards, focusing on midlife health issues like heart attacks and Alzheimer's disease, and enhancing accountability in federal research programs. This initiative also emphasizes the importance of understanding conditions that uniquely affect women, such as endometriosis and menopause. Additionally, the order directs efforts towards addressing tribal beliefs related to menopause, improving mental health services for women, and conducting new research on nutritional needs. Biden's executive order underscores a comprehensive approach to women's health beyond reproductive care, highlighting the need for increased funding and research in areas where women have been historically underrepresented.
