Fact Sheet

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A New Model For Women's Health

The National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health (CoE) were established by the Office on Women's Health within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 1996. Their mandate is to establish and evaluate a new model health care system that unites women's health research, medical training, clinical care, public health education, community outreach, and the promotion of women in academic medicine around a common mission — to improve the health status of diverse women across the life span.

The model includes:

• The creation of dynamic, multi-disciplinary linkages - crossing academic programs, professional schools, and medical specialties - to enrich women's health research, enhance clinical care, and improve the skills and competencies of health care providers.

• The integration of comprehensive primary women's health care services with specialty care services in a user-friendly and women-centered environment.

• The use of electronic communication resources (Internet, telephone information services, and telemedicine) to improve women's access to health information and services.

• The implementation of extended office hours, support services, and other initiatives to facilitate women's access to health care.

• The advancement of a women's health research agenda that reflects the needs, diversity, and feedback of women themselves.

• The translation of research advances to clinical practice and medical training.

• The promotion of women to leadership positions in medical research, teaching, and practice.

• The fostering of changes to fully integrate women's health in the medical school curriculum, clinical training, post-doctoral research, and continuing education as well as in non-medical disciplines such as public health, women's studies, and psychology.

• The expansion of community outreach and linkages to better serve women in the community, particularly those who are traditionally underserved.

• The assurance that the CoE mission and model are firmly embedded in the fabric of the academic medical institution, so that they are well-established and self-sustaining.

Working Collaboratively

The CoEs work collaboratively in many ways, including:

• Adolescent Health
• Joint Projects with the National Community Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health (CCOE)
• The CoE/CCOE Research Consortium
• The Center on Women’s Healthcare Quality Assessment
• Thirteen CoE Working Groups

• Clinical Care Directors
• CoE Coordinators
• Conference Planning
• Evaluation
• Leadership/Mentoring
• Outreach Coordinators
• Press/Media Communications
• Professional Education
• Publications
• Racial and Ethnic Minority and Underserved Women
• Research
• Resource Center Coordinators

Offering a Significant Return on Investment

The National Centers of Excellence in Women's Health have galvanized significant support, resources, and attention to women's health both from within their academic institutions as well as from external sources. By September 2005, with about $24 million in funding from the Office on Women's Health, the Centers had leveraged more than $600 million in additional funds to promote the advancement women's health.

For more information, contact:
Office on Women's Health
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 712E
Washington, D.C. 20201
phone: (202) 690-7650
fax: (202) 401-4005

Current as of February 2006