According to a National Center for Biotechnology Information study, “medical studies have excluded female participants and research data [has] been collected from males and generalized to females.” There is a gender gap in medical research that can result in disadvantages for female patients.
Earlier this month, the White House announced that Pres. Joe Biden will establish an initiative on Women’s Health Research to fund it. According to an official White House fact sheet, the “lack of investment limits our understanding of conditions that are specific to women, predominantly affect women, or affect women differently.”
“I have always believed in the power of research to save lives and to ensure that Americans get the high-quality health care they need. To achieve scientific breakthroughs and strengthen our ability to prevent, detect, and treat diseases, we have to be bold,” Biden said in a press release from the White House.
The initiative will be led by First Lady Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council.
In a White House press release, Jill Biden said the initiative “will help change that by identifying bold solutions to uncover the answers that every woman and her family deserves. We also are calling on congressional leaders, the private sector, research institutions, and philanthropy to join us in taking urgent action to improve the health and lives of women throughout the nation.”
The White House Gender Policy Council was established by Biden in 2021 to “advance gender equity and equality in both domestic and foreign policy development and implementation… it covers a range of issues—including economic security, health, gender-based violence and education—with a focus on gender equity and equality, and particular attention to the barriers faced by women and girls.”
The initiative will be chaired by Dr. Carolyn Mazure, founder and director of Yale School of Medicine’s Women’s Health Research, who is also a Yale professor of psychiatry and of psychology.
“This initiative elevates the importance of women’s health research in the nation, which is really extraordinary,” said Mazure in a statement from Yale School of Medicine. “We have outstanding opportunities to make the progress that we need.”
The initiative will include members of existing departments and agencies across the federal government such as the United States Departments of Health and Human Services and Defense that will recommend actions that the administration can take to improve how research on women’s health is conducted and maximize the administration’s investments in women’s health research.
According to an official White House fact sheet, there will be set areas of focus that could transform how women’s health is looked at, especially conditions such as heart attacks to menopause. The initiative explores public and private partnerships along with engaging with private and philanthropic leaders to drive innovation and ensure the combined power of the public.
The White House hopes to close the gap between inequalities between men and women’s health research in the U.S.
First Lady Biden said in a White House press release, “Every woman I know has a story about leaving her doctor’s office with more questions than answers. Not because our doctors are withholding information, but because there’s just not enough research yet on how to best manage and treat even common women’s health conditions. In 2023, that is unacceptable.”