IOM Topic: Women's Health

Review of WIC Food Packages - Phase 1- Public Comments

6/25/2015

Review of WIC Food Packages

First Meeting of the Committee on the State of the Science in Ovarian Cancer Research

6/2/2015

The first meeting of the Committee on the State of the Science in Ovarian Cancer Research will take place January 8, 2015, at the Keck Center Building. There will be intermittent open and closed sessions. Please see agenda for details.

Second Meeting of the Committee on the State of the Science in Ovarian Cancer Research

6/2/2015

The Committee on the State of the Science of Ovarian Cancer Research, as well as outside speakers, will lead an open session on April 7 and a closed session on April 8.

The State of the Science in Ovarian Cancer Research

5/27/2015

An ad hoc committee under the auspices of the Institute of Medicine will review the state of the science in ovarian cancer and formulate recommendations for action to advance the field.

Meeting 2: A Comprehensive Review of the DHHS Office of Family Planning Title X Program

5/20/2015

During this open session, the Committee on a Comprehensive Review of the DHHS Office of Family Planning Title X Program met to hear a variety of perspectives on the pros and cons of Title X.

Understanding Premature Birth and Assuring Healthy Outcomes

4/22/2015

An IOM committee will define and address the health related and economic consequences of premature birth.

Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan: Readjustment Needs of Veterans, Service Members, and Their Families

11/6/2014

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been the longest sustained U.S. military operations since the Vietnam era, sending more than 2.2 million troops into battle, and resulting in more than 6,600 deaths and 48,000 injuries. While many service members return home relatively unscathed and report rewarding experiences, others return with varied complex health conditions and find that readjusting to life at home, reconnecting with family, finding work, or returning to school is an ongoing struggle. The IOM was asked to study veterans’ physical and mental health, as well as other readjustment needs. Following its phase one report, this report presents the IOM’s comprehensive assessment of the physical, psychological, social, and economic effects of deployment on service members, veterans, their families, and their communities.

Workshop on Preventing Intimate Partner Violence in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania

7/23/2014

This 2-day workshop will focus on intimate partner violence (IPV) in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania and will address the intersection with HIV/AIDS, the role of power dynamics within relationships, social perceptions within communities, and societal level policies and implications.

Depression, Parenting Practices, and the Healthy Development of Children

7/18/2014

A NRC/IOM Committee on Depression, Parenting Practices, and the Healthy Development of Children

Updating the USDA National Breastfeeding Campaign: A Workshop

7/1/2014

An IOM committee will plan and conduct a one day public workshop on breastfeeding promotion and support in the WIC Program with special emphasis on the USDA national breastfeeding campaign, “Loving Support Makes Breastfeeding Work.”

Reexamination of IOM Pregnancy Weight Guidelines

7/1/2014

An ad hoc committee will review and update the 1990 Institute of Medicine recommendations for weight gain during pregnancy and recommend ways to encourage their adoption through clinical guidance, consumer education, and public health strategies

Pregnancy Weight Gain Guidelines: Dissemination Workshops and Related Activities

7/1/2014

The IOM and the National Research Council will develop a series of information resources to support guidance based on the recommendations of the report "Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines."

Research Issues in the Assessment of Birth Settings

7/1/2014

The IOM and the National Research Council will convene a committee to plan and conduct a two-day public workshop that will review updates to the 1982 IOM-NRC report Research Issues in the Assessment of Birth Settings. The workshop will feature invited presentations and discussions that will highlight research findings that advance our understanding of the effects, on maternal labor, clinical and other birth procedures, and birth outcomes, of maternal care services in different types of institutional settings, including conventional hospital labor and delivery wards and alternative birth settings that may be hospital-affiliated or free-standing.

Women’s Health Research: Progress, Pitfalls, and Promise

5/12/2014

Over the past two decades, there have been major changes in government support of women’s health research. The IOM finds that women’s health research has contributed to significant progress in lessening the burden of disease and reducing deaths from some conditions, while other conditions have seen only moderate change or even little or no change.

Susan G. Komen® Announces $4.5 Million in Grants

1/28/2014

Susan G. Komen® announced $4.5 million in new research grants to examine environmental exposures and links to breast cancer on August 1, 2013. The

What You Read in 2013

1/6/2014

A list of the most viewed IOM reports for the year 2013.

IOM Report Identifies Steps That May Reduce Women's Risk For Breast Cancer Associated With Environmental Factors

12/18/2013

Women may be able to reduce their risk for breast cancer by avoiding unnecessary medical radiation, forgoing use of combination estrogen-progestin menopausal hormone therapy if possible, limiting alcohol consumption, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, and avoiding tobacco use, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. These preventive steps focus on the environmental risk factors for which there is consistent scientific evidence of an association with breast cancer.

Breast Cancer and the Environment: A Life Course Approach

10/7/2013

More than 230,000 new cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2011. The IOM was asked to review the current evidence on breast cancer and the environment, review challenges in studying this topic, explore evidence-based actions that women might take to reduce their risk, and recommend future research. Overall, it finds that major advances have been made in understanding breast cancer and its risk factors, but more needs to be learned about its causes, how environmental exposures affect risk for the disease, and how to prevent it.

An Update on Research Issues in the Assessment of Birth Settings - Workshop Summary

9/23/2013

More than 30 years ago, the IOM and the National Research Council released the report Research Issues in the Assessment of Birth Settings which determined methodologies and research needed to evaluate childbirth settings in the United States. Since the release of the report in 1982, the issues surrounding birth settings have evolved and new research has emerged. In March 2013 the IOM held a workshop to review updates to the 1982 report. Presentations and discussions highlighted research findings that advance understanding of the effects of maternal care services in different birth settings on labor, clinical and other birth procedures, and birth outcomes. The workshop also identified datasets and relevant research literature that may inform a future study.

Leveraging Action to Support Dissemination of Pregnancy Weight Gain Guidelines - Workshop Summary

9/16/2013

Along with recommending revised pregnancy weight gain guidelines, the 2009 IOM and National Research Council (NRC) report, Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines, identified evidence that preconception counseling and certain practices, such as charting weight gain during pregnancy, can help women stay within the recommended guidelines. However, many women still do not receive adequate pre- or post-conception advice about weight and pregnancy weight gain. Many women and their health professionals remain unaware of the recommended pregnancy weight guidelines and even those women who are aware of the guidelines may find it difficult to obtain guidance to help them achieve those guidelines. The IOM and NRC held a workshop to present a range of dissemination products, and discuss communication and implementation of recommended guidelines for healthy pregnancy weight gain.

Pregnancy Weight Gain Guidelines: Toolkit for Counseling and Dissemination Webinar

9/11/2013

Pregnancy Weight Gain Guidelines Dissemination Webinar

Preliminary Assessment of Readjustment Needs of Veterans, Service Members, and Their Families

9/5/2013

Nearly 1.9 million U.S. troops have been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001. Many service members and veterans face serious challenges in readjusting to normal life after returning home. This initial report presents findings on the most critical challenges, and lays out the blueprint for the second phase of the study to determine how best to meet the needs of returning troops and their families.

Sex-Specific Reporting of Scientific Research - Workshop Summary

9/4/2013

In 2010, the IOM released a report that found, among other things, data not being reported by sex had slowed progress in women’s health. The number of women participating in clinical trials has increased over the last two decades, though they are still underrepresented. Even when women are included in these trials, however, the results are often not analyzed separately by sex. On August 30, 2011, The IOM’s Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice hosted a workshop to address the recommendation that journals should adopt a guideline that all papers report the outcomes of research on males and females separately.

Updating the USDA National Breastfeeding Campaign - Workshop Summary

9/4/2013

Support for breastfeeding has been a priority of the WIC program since its inception in the 1970s. The Loving Support Makes Breastfeeding Work campaign, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Services launched in 1997, emphasizes key components needed for a breastfeeding mother to be successful. More than a decade after the campaign began, USDA wants to update it, taking into account changes in the WIC program, participants, and technology. On April 26, 2011, the IOM hosted a workshop to bring together experts to discuss what has changed since Loving Support began, lessons learned from other public health campaigns, and suggestions for where to take the campaign in the future.

Clinical Preventive Services for Women: Closing the Gaps

9/4/2013

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) addresses preventive services for both men and women of all ages, and women in particular stand to benefit from additional preventive health services. The Department of Health and Human Services charged the IOM with reviewing what preventive services are important to women’s health and well-being and then recommending which of these should be considered in the development of comprehensive guidelines. The IOM recommends that women’s preventive services include, among other services, improved screening for cervical cancer, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV; a fuller range of contraceptive education, counseling, methods, and services; services for pregnant women; at least one well-woman preventive care visit annually; and screening and counseling for interpersonal and domestic violence.

Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines

9/4/2013

It has been nearly two decades since guidelines for how much weight a woman should gain during pregnancy were issued by the Institute of Medicine. In that time, more research has been conducted on the effects of weight gain in pregnancy on the health of both mother and baby. There have also been dramatic changes in the population of women having babies. Given these changes, the IOM’s 2009 report Weight Gain During Pregnancy: Reexamining the Guidelines examines weight gain during pregnancy from the perspective that factors that affect pregnancy begin before conception and continue through the first year after delivery.

A Review of the HHS Family Planning Program: Mission, Management, and Measurement of Results

9/4/2013

Ample research shows that family planning contributes to the well-being of individuals, families, and broader society as well. Even so, many low-income individuals find it difficult to pay for these much-needed services, highlighting the critical role played by the Title X Family Planning Program, the nation’s only federal program exclusively devoted to providing family planning services. In its 2009 report A Review of the HHS Family Planning Program: Mission, Management, and Measurement of Results, the authoring committee acknowledges the program’s success in providing critical services to those who have the most difficulty obtaining them. However, the report outlines several aspects of the Title X program’s structure that need to be improved if the program is going to truly meet the needs of individuals and families and improve their overall reproductive health and well-being.

Influence of Pregnancy Weight on Maternal and Child Health: A Workshop Report

9/4/2013

Given the unprecedented environment in the United States in which two-thirds of the adult population meets the criteria for being overweight or obese, the implications for women in the reproductive age period are unique in the history of the country. In May 2006, at the request of the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine convened a workshop to examine emerging research findings related to the complex relationship of the biological, behavioral, psychological, and social interactions that affect maternal and pregnancy weight on maternal and child health outcomes.

Assessing the Medical Risks of Oocyte Donation for Stem Cell Research: Workshop Summary

9/4/2013

The oocyte donation process that allows vital stem cell research is not without its risks to the donors, and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine contracted with the National Academies (NAS) to assemble a workshop that would bring together experts from various areas to address the questions of what is known about these risks, what needs to be known, and what can be done to minimize them. In response, the NAS formed the Committee on Assessing the Medical Risks of Oocyte Donation for Stem Cell Research that held a workshop in San Francisco on September 28, 2006, devoted to those issues.

Preterm Birth: Causes, Consequences, and Prevention

9/4/2013

In 2005, 12.5 percent of births in the United States were preterm, at less than 37 weeks gestation. This high rate of premature births in the United States constitutes a public health concern that costs society at least $26 billion a year. Preterm Birth: Causes, Consequences, and Prevention notes troubling disparities in preterm birth rates among different racial and ethnic groups.