AEGiS-GMHC: Office on Women's Health Finally Gets Around to HIV

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1997. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Office on Women's Health Finally Gets Around to HIV

Treatment Issues, Vol 11, No 7/8; July/August 1997
Saundra Johnson

On July 8, 1997, the U.S. Public Health Service's Office on Women's Health finally developed a formal interest in women and HIV disease. Approximately 60 women attended the July meeting either in person or via the telephone. The goal of the gathering was to address issues that contributed to the 3% increase in the women's AIDS-related death rate observed in the first half of 1996 while the death rate in other AIDS populations decreased. To its credit, the Office on Women's Health admitted its tardiness on the subject of HIV/AIDS. But the absence of a representative from the NIH's Division of AIDS was strikingly noticeable and did nothing to improve the Office's credibility.

Since the issues affecting women living with HIV are many and varied, the group decided to divide the issues into six general categories -- prevention, care, research, partnership, policy and "interfaith issues" -- with the understanding that there would be some overlap. In addition, the group was asked to consider policy, partnerships and interfaith issues within each of the first three categories.

Under prevention, female-controlled microbicides and integration of prevention into institutions already used by women were major issues. The care category included access to care within the realm of Medicaid managed care. Separate analyses by gender, a central database for the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) and HIV Epidemiology Research Study (HERS) were just two issues in the research category. Cross-category issues included social conditioning of women as a deterrent to self-care and advocacy and vaccine trials.

Instead of attempting to prioritize issues within the categories in the short time remaining, a suggestion was made that the Office on Women's Health produce a document that will look at past prevention, care, research and policy agendas and list where there has been improvement and where there has not. The checklist approach will better allow the group to see where the gaps still exist and to prioritize future efforts.

Still, the question on the minds of most of the community women present was, "just how much authority, if any, does the Office on Women's Health have to support any recommendations that are eventually put forth?" Many felt that too often, women have sat through many meetings like this, volunteered for work groups and drafted numerous recommendations only to have their hard work and the issues concerning women living with HIV ignored.

A draft of the document should be ready in time for discussion at the next meeting, which is scheduled for September 12, 1997. For information regarding participation, contact Frances Page in the Office on Women's Health at 202/690-7650.

970701
GM110703

Copyright © 1997 - Treatment Issues. Reproduced with permission. Treatment Issues is published twelve times yearly by GMHC, Inc. All rights reserved. Noncommercial reproduction is encouraged. Subscription lists are kept confidential. GMHC Treatment Issues, The Tisch Building, 119 West 24th Street, New York, NY 10011 fredg@gmhc.org http://www.gmhc.org

AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, iMetrikus, Inc., John M. Lloyd Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2003. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2003. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .