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HomeAboutAffiliated FacultyWomen’s Health IssuesNewsResearch ProjectsSchiffer
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Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
Founded in 1990, the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health works to improve women’s
health through research, dialogue, teaching, and information dissemination. Our
mission is to:
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Identify and study aspects of healthcare and public health, including legal and policy
issues, that affect women’s health at different life stages;
Foster awareness of and facilitate dialogue around issues that affect women’s health;
and
Promote interdisciplinary research, coordination, and information dissemination on
women’s health issues.
The Jacobs Institute focuses primarily on the health of U.S. women, while also
collaborating with colleagues who work internationally.
The Jacobs Institute promotes environments where an interdisciplinary audience –
including healthcare professionals, researchers, policymakers, and advocates – comes
together to discuss ways to advance women’s health.
Affiliated Faculty
Faculty from across the George Washington University are affiliated with the Jacobs
Institute of Women's Health:
Milken Institute School of Public Health
Jeffrey (Bart) Bingenheimer, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Prevention and Community Health
Amanda D. Castel, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Program Co-Director, Master of Science in Public Health, Microbiology and Emerging
Infectious Diseases
Topic areas include: HIV among Women in Washington, DC (or nationally); Prevention
of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV
Mary A. Foulkes, PhD
Research Professor, Biostatistics Center; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics;
Department of Health Policy
Mimi Ghosh, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatstics
Topic areas include: Biological mechanisms of sexual transmission of HIV in women;
HIV immune responses in postmenopausal women; HIV immune responses in women
experiencing sexual violence
Jeanne A. Jordan, PhD
Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Leighton Ku, PhD, MPH
Interim Chair and Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management; Director,
Center for Health Policy Research
Topic areas include: Budget issues in health policy, immigrant health care, DC's health
insurance exchange: DC Health Link
Anne Rossier Markus, PhD, JD
Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management
Leah Masselink, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management
Melissa McCarthy, ScD, MS
Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management
Karen McDonnell, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Prevention and Community Health; Director, DrPH
Program in Health Behavior
Topic areas include: HIV, DV, Substance Use, Poverty: Looking at women's health
through a syndemic lens; Gender Based Violence (Latina, programs, community);
Chronic Pelvic Pain: It's not all in my head
Katherine (Holly) Mead, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management
Melissa Perry, ScD, MHS
Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
Marsha Regenstein, PhD
Professor, Department of Health Policy; Director, DrPH Program
Naomi Seiler, JD
Associate Research Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management
Topic areas include: Affordable Care Act and public health; HIV policy; and public
health law
Peter Shin, PhD, MPH
Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management
James Tielsch, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Global Health
Amita Vyas, PhD, MHS
Assistant Professor, Department of Prevention and Community Health; Director,
Maternal and Child Health Program
Susan F. Wood, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management and Department of
Environmental and Occupational Health; Executive Director, Jacobs Institute of
Women’s Health
Topic areas include: Women's Health and Health Care Reform; Emergency
Contraception: FDA Policy and Action; Family Planning Services at Community Health
Centers
Ami R. Zota, ScD, MS
Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
Medical Faculty Associates / School of Medicine & Health
Sciences/ School of Nursing
Jillian Catalanotti, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Medicine and of Health Policy; Director, Internal Medicine
Residency Program, School of Medicine & Health Sciences
Jehan El-Bayoumi, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine; Founding Director, Rodham Institute
Medical Faculty Associates / School of Medicine & Health Sciences
Topic areas include: Domestic Violence; Health Equity in DC; Medical Education
Sara Imershein, MD, MPH
Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, School of
Medicine & Health Sciences
Professorial Lecturer, Department of Prevention & Community Health, Milken Institute
School of Public Health
Topic areas include: Abortion in America: Patients, Politics and Procedures;
Contraception: The Methods and the Madness; and From Population Control to Civil
Rights: the History of the Reproductive Rights Movement
Jennifer Keller, MD, MPH
Associate Professor; Director, Residency Program, School of Medicine & Health
Sciences
Beverly K. Lunsford, PhD, RN, CNS-BC
Director, Center for Aging, Health and Humanities; Director, Washington Area Geriatric
Education Center Consortium (WAGECC); Assistant Professor, School of Nursing
Whitney Pinger, CNM
Director, Midwifery Services; Associate Clinical Professor, School of Medicine & Health
Sciences
Topic areas include: Cesarean Prevention; Midwifery Pearls: Evidence for Clinical
Practice; Midwifery in general
Global Women's Institute
Manuel Contreras-Urbina, PhD
Director of Research, Global Women's Institute
Topic areas include: Methodological and Ethical Considerations in Research on GenderBased Violence; What Works to Prevent Gender-Based Violence?; International Agenda
on Women's Rights
Mary Ellsberg, PhD
Director, Global Women’s Institute
Columbian College of Arts & Sciences
Affiliated faculty from the George Washington University's Columbian College of Arts &
Sciences include:
Rachelle S. Heller, PhD
Director, Elizabeth J. Somers Women’s Leadership Program; Associate Provost for
Academic Affairs, Mount Vernon Campus; Professor, Computer Science, School of
Engineering & Applied Sciences
Carly Jordan, PhD
Program Coordinator, Women's Leadership Program, Science, Health & Medicine
Cohort; Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Barbara Miller, PhD
Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs; Director, Institute for Global and
International Studies; Director, Culture in Global Affairs Research and Policy Program;
Director, Global Gender Program
Daniel Moshenberg, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of English and Women's Studies
Law School
Naomi Cahn, JD
Harold H. Greene Chair
Topic areas include: Marriage Markets: Gender and Income Inequality; The Honor
Commandment and Elder Care; Gender, Sexual Violence, and Post-Conflict
Reconstruction
Phyllis Goldfarb, JD, LLM
Jacob Burns Foundation Professor of Clinical Law and Associate Dean for Clinical
Affairs
Joan S. Meier, JD
Professor of Clinical Law
Women’s Health Issues
Women's Health Issues is a peer-reviewed, bimonthly, multidisciplinary journal of the
Jacobs Institute. It publishes original research, systematic review articles, and
commentaries on women's health care and policy. The journal seeks to inform health
services researchers, social scientists, healthcare and public health professionals, and
policymakers and to engage readers in the perspectives of multiple disciplines relevant
to the study of women's health.
WHI gives priority to scholarly articles that improve understanding of how social,
healthcare, and policy factors relate to women’s health. It has a particular focus on
women's issues in the context of the U.S. healthcare delivery system and policymaking
processes, although it invites submissions addressing women's healthcare issues in a
global context if relevant to North American readers.
Chloe E. Bird, PhD is the journal’s Editor-in-Chief. The journal accepts unsolicited
manuscripts, which are subject to peer review under the discretion of the editors.
Current and past issues, author guidelines, and submission instructions are available at
http://www.whijournal.com.
Call for Papers: Policy Matters articles
Special Collections and Supplements
Gibbs Leadership Prize
Call for Papers: Policy Matters articles
The Editors and Editorial Board of Women's Health Issues invite article submissions for
a new category of peer-reviewed manuscripts for the “Policy Matters” category.
We invite authors to submit scholarly, thoughtful, and timely policy analyses related to
various issues affecting women's health. These could include, for example:
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Policy implications of proposed legislation, regulations, judicial decisions at the federal,
state, and local levels as they may affect women's health;
Policy implications of current and future developments in programs integral to women's
health (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare, community health, Healthy Start, WIC, family
planning, public health, and private sector insurance coverage);
Scholarly policy analyses of health and social issues affecting women's health from a
historical perspective, e.g., the effects of delinking Medicaid from welfare and
subsequent reproductive health choices, or the effects of state and national health
reform efforts on women's health; and,
Scholarly policy analyses that contribute to our understanding of how effective policy
actions can improve the scope and quality of women's health care services and the
organization, financing, and delivery of these services.
“Policy Matters” submissions may contain recommendations for “next steps,” however a
key peer review criterion will be the extent to which such recommendations are
supported by the rigor and comprehensiveness of the supporting policy analysis. “Policy
Matters” manuscripts should not exceed 3,000 words – charts and graphs are
encouraged when appropriate.
The journal continues to give priority to scholarly health services research articles that
report the results of original research and that improve understanding of how social,
health care, and policy factors relate to women’s health. We seek in particular research
articles and commentaries that:
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Contribute to a better understanding of gender-based health services research and
policy; and
Document applied integration and implementation strategies that translate new clinical,
health services, and health policy research findings into women's health care practice
and policy.
Special Collections and Supplements
The journal's editors select some of our highest-quality articles for inclusion in the
Editor's Choice Collection. These articles are free to read (no subscription required) on
the Free Editor's Choice Collection page.
Our Special Collections highlight previously published articles on specific topics. Recent
collections address Women Veterans' Health and Women's Heart Health. In addition,
we have published several special supplements on specific topics, including:
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Bringing Gender Home: Implementing Gender-Responsive HIV/AIDS Programming for
U.S. Women and Girls
Health and Health Care of Women Veterans and Women in the Military: Research
Informing Evidence-based Practice and Policy
Abortion, Reproductive Rights and Health: Highlights from the Charlotte Ellertson
Social Science Postdoctoral Fellowship 2003-2010
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Transforming Maternity Care: 2020 Vision for a High Quality, High Value Maternity
Care System, Blueprint for Action and Proceedings from the Childbirth Connection 90th
Anniversary Symposium
Policy and Financing Issues for Preconception and Interconception Health
Gibbs Leadership Prize
The Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize is awarded annually to recognize excellence in
research on women’s health care or policy. Priority is given to manuscripts that report
the results of original research and that improve understanding of an important
women’s health issue. Members of the staff and Editorial Board of Women’s Health
Issues are not eligible. The prize includes a $1,000 award. All winning articles are
available to read for free on the journal website.
Women’s Health Issues Awards 2014 Gibbs Leadership Prize to Study on
Sexual Behaviors and Bullying in High School Students
The Editorial Board of Women’s Health Issues is pleased to announce that the Charles
E. Gibbs Leadership Prize for the best paper published in Women's Health Issues in
2014 (Volume 24) has been awarded to Hailee K. Dunn, MPH, a PhD student in clinical
psychology at the University of Rhode Island. Dunn's manuscript, “Association between
Sexual Behaviors, Bullying Victimization and Suicidal Ideation in a National Sample of
High School Students: Implications of a Sexual Double Standard,” was co-authored by
Annie Gjelsvik, PhD; Deborah N. Pearlman, PhD; and Melissa A. Clark, PhD. The
manuscript was published in Women's Health Issues Volume 24, Issue 5
(September/October 2014), pages 567-574.
In the study, Dunn and her colleagues analyzed data on 13,065 high school students
from the nationally representative 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. They found that
students who reported having engaged in sexual intercourse were more likely to report
having been bullied (at school or electronically) over the past 12 months than students
who did not report intercourse experience. They also found that girls who engaged in
sexual intercourse were more likely to be bullied than were boys who engaged in sexual
intercourse. Students of both genders who reported both engaging in intercourse and
being bullied had more than five times the adjusted odds of depression and three times
the adjusted odds of suicidal ideation when compared to students who reported neither
of these experiences.
The authors explain that their finding of a stronger association between sexual
intercourse and bullying victimization in girls than in boys provides “some evidence that
girls are held to different sexual standards than boys." They recommend that "schoolbased bullying interventions should address peer norms regarding sexual behaviors,
attitudes toward the sexual double standard and more broadly, attitudes and norms
regarding traditional gender roles held in U.S. culture."
The Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize is awarded annually to recognize excellence in
research on women’s health care or policy. Priority is given to manuscripts that report
the results of original research and that improve understanding of an important
women’s health issue. Members of the staff and Editorial Board of Women’s Health
Issues are not eligible. The prize includes a $1,000 award.
“The Editorial Board congratulates Hailee Dunn and her colleagues for producing a
study that is methodologically strong and has clear policy implications,” said Chloe Bird,
Editor-in-Chief of Women’s Health Issues. “It is an important contribution to the
ongoing discussions about how best to prevent and address bullying in school.” Bird
presented the prize to Dunn at the Gender & Health Interest Group session at the
AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting on June 13th, 2015.
The Women’s Health Issues Editorial Board also designated two excellent manuscripts
in 2014 to receive “Honorable Mention" recognition:
“Selected Preconception Health Indicators and Birth Weight Disparities in a National
Study” by Kelly L. Strutz, PhD, MPH; Liana J. Richardson, PhD, MPH; and Jon M.
Hussey, PhD, MPH. Published in Volume 24, Issue 1 (January/February), pages e89–
e97.
“Maternal Morbidities and Postpartum Depression: An Analysis Using the 2007 and
2008 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System” by Swathy Sundaram, PhD,
MPH; Jeffrey S. Harman, PhD; and Robert L. Cook, MD, MPH. Published in Volume 24,
Issue 4 (July/August), pages e381–e388.
The Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize was established to honor the founding President
of the Board of Governors of the Jacobs Institute of Women Health. Charles E. Gibbs,
MD (1923–2000) was a Fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists (ACOG) and past chair of ACOG’s Committee on Health Care for
Underserved Women, the Task Force on the Voluntary Review of Quality of Care, the
Health Care Commission, and the Task Force on Maternal Health Policy. Dr. Gibbs
served on the Jacobs Institute of Women Health Board of Governors from 1990–1999
and was instrumental in shaping the Institute’s mission and structure.
Previous winners of the Gibbs Prize include:
Cynthia A. LeardMann, MPH (2013)
Nathan L. Hale, PhD (2012)
Jacqueline L. Angel, PhD (2011)
Diana Greene Foster, PhD (2010)
Paula Lantz, PhD (2009)
Sherry Glied, PhD (2008)
Richard C. Lindrooth, PhD (2007)
Joan S. Tucker, PhD (2006)
JiWon R. Lee, MS, RD, MPH (2005)
Dawn M. Upchurch, PhD (2004)
Sherry L. Grace, PhD (2003)
Sarah Hudson Scholle, DrPH (2002)
Sandra K. Pope, PhD (2001)
Ilene Hyman, PhD (2000)
Usha Sambamaoorthi, PhD (1999)
Claire Murphy, MD (1997)
Barbara A. Bartman, MD, MPH (1996)
News
Recent news:
December 22, 2015: Women's Health Issues Launches 25th Anniversary Special
Collection
December 15, 2015: New Study in Women’s Health Issues: Gender Differences in
Treatment of Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients
December 15, 2015: Gibbs Leadership Prize: Best Manuscript of 2015 in Women's
Health Issues
December 2, 2015: New White Paper on Medication Abortion Provides Overview on
Research and Policy
November 19, 2015: Susan F. Wood and Diana Zuckerman Author Washington Post Oped on 21st Century Cures Act
November 12, 2015: New Featured Study in Women’s Health Issues: Long-acting
Reversible Contraception in the Postpartum Period
October 20, 2015: Women’s Health Issues Commentary: Proposed Planned Parenthood
Funding Cuts Would Harm Women in Medically Underserved Communities
October 13, 2015: Workplace Accommodations for Breastfeeding Mothers Fall Short,
According to New Study in Women’s Health Issues
September 29, 2015: New Study in Women’s Health Issues: Health of Postmenopausal
Women Veterans
September 9, 2015: New Study in Women's Health Issues: Alzheimer’s Puts Heavier
Economic Burden on Women
August 26, 2015: New Study in Women’s Health Issues: Screening Mammography in a
Public Hospital Serving Predominantly African-American Women
August 19, 2015: New Commentary in Women's Health Issues: Advancing Women’s
Heart Health
July 27, 2015: New Study in Women's Health Issues: Alcohol Use and Unintended
Sexual Consequences
June 16, 2015: Women's Health Issues Awards 2014 Gibbs Leadership Prize to Study on
Sexual Behaviors and Bullying in High School Students
May 6, 2015: New Study in Women's Health Issues: Trauma-Informed Primary Care
April 15, 2015: New Study in Women's Health Issues: Sex Differences in Home-Based
Care
January 28, 2015: Women's Health Issues Launches Special Collection on Women's
Heart Health
December 22, 2015
Women's Health Issues Launches 25th Anniversary Special Collection
WASHINGTON, DC (December 22, 2015) — The peer-reviewed journal Women's
Health Issues (WHI) today released a new Special Collection of articles on women’s
health in celebration of its 25th anniversary. The 25th Anniversary Collection includes a
sample of some of the best work the journal has published since its launch in 1990, all of
which are free to read for the next 30 days.
“This collection showcases the breadth and high quality of the work Women’s Health
Issues has published over the past 25 years,” said Chloe E. Bird, editor-in-chief of
Women’s Health Issues and senior sociologist at RAND. “The selected articles address a
wide range of factors that affect women’s health outcomes, from experiences of violence
to healthcare services. What they have in common is findings that healthcare providers,
policymakers, and others can use to help women lead healthier lives.”
Women’s Health Issues is the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health,
which is based at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington
University. It is dedicated to improving the health and health care of all women
throughout the lifespan and in diverse communities, and seeks to inform health services
researchers, healthcare and public-health professionals, social scientists, policymakers,
and others concerned with women's health.
Studies in the 25th Anniversary Collection address health conditions from HIV to heart
disease; disparities in care and health outcomes; specific populations, from veterans to
women with disabilities; reproductive health; healthcare costs and financing; and more.
The collection does not include articles that have won the journal’s annual Charles E.
Gibbs Leadership Prize, which already receive special recognition and are continually
accessible for free. Anniversary collection articles will be free to read until January 22,
2016.
“As this collection makes clear, Women’s Health Issues has benefited enormously from
the talent and expertise of our authors, peer reviewers, and editorial board members,”
said Bird. “We are deeply grateful to everyone who has contributed so much to this
journal over the past 25 years.”
December 15, 2015
New Study in Women’s Health Issues: Gender Differences in Treatment of
Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients
WASHINGTON, DC (December 15, 2015) – Women admitted to hospitals in the
Australian state of Victoria with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were less likely to
receive coronary interventions, found a study published today in the journal Women’s
Health Issues, the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, which is
based at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University.
Linda Worrall-Carter, of Her Heart Ltd and Australian Catholic University, and her
colleagues analyzed data on all 28,295 patients admitted to Victoria hospitals with a
first-time primary diagnosis of ACS between June 2007 and July 2009. They report that
women, who accounted for 36 percent of the patients, were less likely than men to
receive three common kinds of invasive coronary interventions: angiograms,
percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).
Worrall-Carter and her colleagues examined several factors that can affect treatments
and outcomes in ACS patients, including the number of other health conditions
recorded for each patient and the type of ACS. They categorized patients as having
either STEMI (ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction) or NSTEACS (non–STsegment elevation ACS, which includes non-STEMI and unstable angina). Compared to
men, they found women were more likely to be age 75 or older, have multiple other
health conditions, and be diagnosed with NSTEACS.
Even after adjusting for factors such as age, other health conditions, and type of ACS,
Worrall-Carter and colleagues found that women were around one-half as likely to be
treated with an invasive coronary intervention – and the in-hospital death rate was
higher in patients who did not receive these interventions. While their unadjusted
analysis found a higher rate of in-hospital death for women, the difference disappeared
after adjustment.
The frequent decision to not refer women ACS patients for angiography means that
clinicians may miss opportunities to provide early revascularization treatment, the
authors warn. They conclude, “Clinicians should be wary of inherent gender bias in
decisions to refer patients for angiography.”
The article, “Gender Differences in Presentation, Coronary Intervention, and Outcomes
of 28,985 Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients in Victoria, Australia,” appears in the
January/February 2016 issue of Women’s Health Issues.
December 15, 2015
Gibbs Leadership Prize: Best Manuscript of 2015 in Women's Health Issues
The Editorial Board of Women’s Health Issues is pleased to announce that the Charles
E. Gibbs Leadership Prize for the best paper published in Women's Health Issues in
2015 (Volume 25) has been awarded to Miao Jiang, PhD, a research fellow at the Harvey
L. Neiman Health Policy Institute and adjunct faculty member with the Department of
Health Administration and Policy, George Mason University. Jiang's manuscript,
“Screening Mammography Rates in the Medicare Population before and after the 2009
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Guideline Change: An Interrupted Time Series
Analysis,” was co-authored by Danny R. Hughes, PhD and Richard Duszak Jr., MD. The
manuscript was published in Women's Health Issues Volume 25, Issue 3 (May/June
2015), pages 239–245.
The study explores how new guidelines on screening mammography released by the US
Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) in 2009 may have affected screening
mammography among women ages 65 and older. Jiang and her colleagues used
Medicare fee-for-service claims data from 2005 through 2012 for a 5% random sample
of beneficiaries. They found that rates of screening mammography had been increasing
for all Medicare beneficiaries ages 65 to 90 prior to the 2009 guideline change. After the
guidelines’ release, they found an immediate and significant decrease in screening of
1.76 per 1,000 women. By comparison, they found that use of two other preventive
services, Pap tests and routine eye examinations, did not show any similar shift during
the time period under study – suggesting that the drop in screening mammography is
likely associated with the USPSTF guideline change.
Screening mammography rates decreased immediately after the guideline change for all
age groups studied, Jiang and her colleagues found; three years later, the rate stabilized
for those aged 65 to 74, and continued to decline for those aged 75 and older. The
authors comment, "Behavioral changes should be anticipated when professional
organizations issue competing guidelines; their important public policy implications
may impact distinct demographic groups differently, and their results may not be fully
quantifiable for many years after their implementation."
“The Editorial Board congratulates Miao Jiang and her colleagues for conducting a
methodologically strong study that makes an important contribution to the ongoing
debate over mammography screening guidelines,” said Chloe Bird, Editor-in-Chief of
Women’s Health Issues.
The Editorial Board also designated two manuscripts in 2015 to receive “Honorable
Mention" recognition:
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“Understanding Disparities in Lipid Management Among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes:
Gender Differences in Medication Nonadherence after Treatment Intensification” by
John Billimek, PhD; Shaista Malik, MD, PhD; Dara H. Sorkin, PhD; Priel Schmalbach,
PhD; Quyen Ngo-Metzger, MD, MPH; Sheldon Greenfield, MD; and Sherrie H. Kaplan,
PhD, MPH. Published in Volume 25, Issue 1 (January/February), pages 6–12.
“Why Are U.S. Girls Getting Meningococcal But Not Human Papilloma Virus Vaccines?
Comparison of Factors Associated with Human Papilloma Virus and Meningococcal
Vaccination Among Adolescent Girls 2008 to 2012” by Rebecca B. Perkins, MD, MS;
Mengyun Lin, MPH; Rebecca A. Silliman, MD, PhD; Jack A. Clark, PhD; and Amresh
Hanchate, PhD. Published in Volume 25, Issue 2 (March/April), pages 97-104.
The Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize is awarded annually to recognize excellence in
research on women’s health care or policy. Priority is given to manuscripts that report
the results of original research and that improve understanding of an important
women’s health issue. Members of the staff and Editorial Board of Women’s Health
Issues are not eligible. The prize includes a $1,000 award.
Previous winners of the Gibbs Prize include:
Hailee K. Dunn, MPH (2014)
Cynthia LeardMann, MPH (2013)
Nathan L. Hale, PhD (2012)
Jacqueline L. Angel, PhD (2011)
Diana Greene Foster, PhD (2010)
Paula Lantz, PhD (2009)
Sherry Glied, PhD (2008)
Richard C. Lindrooth, PhD (2007)
Joan S. Tucker, PhD (2006)
JiWon R. Lee, MS, RD, MPH (2005)
Dawn M. Upchurch, PhD (2004)
Sherry L. Grace, PhD (2003)
Sarah Hudson Scholle, DrPH (2002)
Sandra K. Pope, PhD (2001)
Ilene Hyman, PhD (2000)
Usha Sambamaoorthi, PhD (1999)
Claire Murphy, MD (1997)
Barbara A. Bartman, MD, MPH (1996)
The Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize was established to honor the founding President
of the Board of Governors of the Jacobs Institute of Women Health. Charles E. Gibbs,
MD (1923–2000) was a Fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists (ACOG) and past chair of ACOG’s Committee on Health Care for
Underserved Women, the Task Force on the Voluntary Review of Quality of Care, the
Health Care Commission, and the Task Force on Maternal Health Policy. Dr. Gibbs
served on the Jacobs Institute of Women Health Board of Governors from 1990–1999
and was instrumental in shaping the Institute’s mission and structure.
December 2, 2015
New White Paper on Medication Abortion Provides Overview on Research
and Policy
A new white paper from the Bridging the Divide project at the Jacobs Institute of
Women's Health provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview and explanation of
the evolving body of research on medication abortion. It also highlights laws that create
barriers to providing medication abortion in accordance with the current evidence.
In the 15 years since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug
Mifeprex for medication abortions, knowledge about safe, effective, and accessible
medication abortion practices has advanced substantially -- but in some states,
restrictive laws prevent healthcare providers from adopting evidence-based practices.
Mifeprex (known generically as mifepristone) is used in combination with misoprostol
for medication abortions. Although medication abortions are highly safe and effective,
with fewer than one percent of patients experiencing serious complications, the FDA
label specifies drug dosages and a minimum of three clinical visits, and limits its use to
women with pregnancies of 49 days or fewer. This is despite a robust body of evidence
showing that lower doses and fewer visits result in better outcomes for patients and that
the regimen is effective up to 70 days. The label also requires both prescribers and
patients to sign formal medication-specific agreements.
Research, reviewed and explained in this white paper, demonstrates that a lower dose of
mifepristone is more effective and has fewer side effects; that women can safely take
misoprostol at home rather than returning to the provider's office to receive it; and that
medication abortions are safe and effective for pregnancies of up to 70 days. These and
other variations, often referred to as "evidence-based regimens," are common, except
where states mandate that providers adhere to the FDA label. Research is accumulating
to support additional protocol variations that can improve women’s access and
experiences.
Currently, three states -- North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas -- require providers to follow
the FDA label for medication abortion. These requirements exist, despite the common
occurrence of off-label prescribing across all types of medicine, as drug labels often do
not keep pace with research. Thirty-eight states require that medication abortions be
provided by a licensed physician, despite substantial evidence that mid-level providers
such as nurse practitioners can do so with comparable safety and efficacy, and 18 states
require the clinician to be in the physical presence of the patient, even though research
on medication abortions by telemedicine finds this process to be safe and effective.
"Providers want to offer the highest quality of care based on the best available evidence,
and patients should expect that, regardless of the state where they reside," said Susan F.
Wood, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
at the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health. "We
created this white paper to help advocates, policymakers, and the public understand
what the research has found about ensuring women have access to safe, high-quality
medication abortion care. This knowledge can help them address legislative proposals
and policies on medication abortion."
Bridging the Divide is a project of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health and brings
together researchers, policy-makers, and policy advocates with an active interest in
women’s and reproductive health issues in order to improve the impact of each
community in advancing their common goals.
Read the white paper: Medication Abortion: Overview of Research & Policy in the
United States
November 19, 2015
Susan F. Wood and Diana Zuckerman Author Washington Post Op-ed on
21st Century Cures Act
Susan F. Wood, PhD, Executive Director of the Jacobs Institute, has co-authored with
Diana Zuckerman of the National Center for Health Research the Washington Post oped "The 21st Century Cures Act could be a harmful step backward."
November 12, 2015
New Featured Study in Women’s Health Issues: Long-acting Reversible
Contraception in the Postpartum Period
Two-thirds of North Carolina women who wanted to begin using an intrauterine device
or contraceptive implant after giving birth had not received it at six weeks postpartum,
often because they were told that they needed to schedule a separate office visit for
insertion. These are among the findings from the Editor’s Choice study in the latest
issue of the journal Women’s Health Issues, “Barriers to Receiving Long-acting
Reversible Contraception in the Postpartum Period.” Women’s Health Issues is the
official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, which is based at the Milken
Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University.
In the study Matthew Zerden, of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and
WakeMed Health and Hospitals, and his colleagues analyzed responses from 324
women who completed a survey about contraception approximately six weeks after
giving birth in an urban, not-for-profit hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina. The
participants were part of a larger study on postpartum use of long-acting reversible
contraception (LARC) methods, and all 324 expressed an interest in using an
intrauterine device (IUD) or contraceptive implant, which have failure rates below one
percent.
The authors found that two-thirds (65%) of this study’s participants reported that they
had not received LARC methods when they were contacted for the follow-up survey,
which occurred after each woman’s scheduled six-week postpartum visit. The most
common reasons were being told they would need to return for another visit to have the
device inserted, missing the postpartum visit, or being unable to afford the IUD or
implant.
Zerden and his colleagues suggest that postpartum LARC use may increase if women
can receive LARC before postpartum hospitalization discharge or if clinics are able to
provide same-day insertion at the postpartum visit. An increase in LARC use, they note,
can reduce unintended pregnancies and short interpregnancy intervals, which are
associated with increased health risks for mothers and children.
This study is one of several articles on postpartum contraception in the
November/December 2015 edition of Women’s Health Issues:



“Barriers to receiving long-acting reversible contraception in the postpartum period,” by
Matthew L. Zerden, Jennifer H. Tang, Gretchen S. Stuart, Deborah R. Norton, Sarah B.
Verbiest, and Seth Brody
“Postpartum Contraception Use by Urban/Rural Status: An Analysis of the Michigan
Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) Data” by Katherine A. Starr,
Summer L. Martins, Sydeaka Watson, and Melissa L. Gilliam
“Geographic variation in characteristics of postpartum women using female
sterilization” by Kari White, Joseph E. Potter, and Nikki Zite

“Trends and Disparities in Postpartum Sterilization following C-Section, 2000-2008” by
Ginny Garcia, Dawn M. Richardson, Kelly L. Gonzales, and Adolfo G. Cuevas
October 20, 2015
Women’s Health Issues Commentary: Proposed Planned Parenthood
Funding Cuts Would Harm Women in Medically Underserved
Communities
Eliminating federal funding for Planned Parenthood, as some members of Congress
urge, would only make it harder for low-income women in medically underserved
communities to obtain healthcare, warns a new commentary in the journal Women’s
Health Issues. The piece notes that while the Affordable Care Act has allowed many
women to gain insurance that covers contraception and other preventive care without
cost-sharing, accessing healthcare services is still difficult for those in areas with few
healthcare providers. The authors explain that if Planned Parenthood clinics were to
close, many communities’ remaining providers would be unable to serve all of the
clinics’ former patients – and some communities would be left without any safety-net
provider at all.
Women’s Health Issues is the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health,
which is based at the Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at
the George Washington University. The commentary, "Turning Back the Clock on
Women’s Health in Medically Underserved Communities," was co-authored by Sara
Rosenbaum, JD, the Harold and Jane Hirsh Professor of Health Law and Policy at
Milken Institute SPH, and Susan F. Wood, PhD, the Executive Director of the Jacobs
Institute of Women’s Health at Milken Institute SPH.
“Underserved communities need more healthcare providers, not fewer,” Rosenbaum
said. “I have been working with community health centers for almost four decades, and I
know how much they have achieved. But they don’t have the capacity to replace the
high-quality reproductive healthcare that millions of women get from Planned
Parenthood clinics today.”
In the commentary, Rosenbaum and Wood highlight two federally funded providers
that promote access to care for those with low incomes: Community health centers and
Title X–funded family planning centers. Community health centers provide
comprehensive primary care in medically underserved areas, while Title X centers offer
family planning and other preventive reproductive health services. Both charge fees on a
sliding scale to accommodate low-income patients. While both of these safety-net
providers are present in some areas, many poorer communities have only one or the
other. Funding cuts that result in Planned Parenthood clinics’ closures would leave
many low-income women without a source of reproductive healthcare, the authors say.
“Title X plays an essential role in US women’s health, and Planned Parenthood plays an
essential role in Title X,” said Wood, who also noted that a US House of Representatives
proposal would eliminate the Title X program completely. “Cutting federal funding for
Planned Parenthood – or, even worse, for the entire Title X program – would be
catastrophic for millions of women.”
October 13, 2015
Workplace Accommodations for Breastfeeding Mothers Fall Short,
According to New Study in Women’s Health Issues
Fewer than half of breastfeeding mothers who returned to work after giving birth
reported having access to time and space to express breastmilk at work, a new study
found. This is despite a requirement in the 2010 Affordable Care Act that employers
provide break time and private space for breastfeeding mothers. The study, "Access to
Workplace Accommodations to Support Breastfeeding after Passage of the Affordable
Care Act," has been published online ahead of print and will appear in the
January/February issue of the journal Women's Health Issues.
Lead author Katy Kozhimannil, of the School of Public Health at the University of
Minnesota, and colleagues analyzed data from the Listening to Mothers III survey, a
national survey of 2,400 women aged 18 to 45 who gave birth in U.S. hospitals in 2011
and 2012. They found that only 59 percent of breastfeeding women who returned to
work postpartum had access to adequate break time, and only 45 percent had access to
private space other than a bathroom to express breastmilk. Low-income women and
single mothers were less likely to have access to either break time or private space to
express breastmilk.
The authors found that those mothers who did have access to workplace
accommodations were more than twice as likely as those without these accommodations
to exclusively breastfeed their baby for 6 months, as recommended by the American
Academy of Pediatrics.
The Affordable Care Act requirement to provide accommodations for breastfeeding
mothers applies to all employers, although those with fewer than 50 employees can be
exempted if providing such a space is a hardship. The study authors noted that efforts to
fully implement and enforce the provisions of the Affordable Care Act would likely
benefit low-income families and single mothers, the groups least likely to have access to
workplace support for breastfeeding.
September 29, 2015
New Study in Women’s Health Issues: Health of Postmenopausal Women
Veterans
WASHINGTON, DC (September 29, 2015)—A new study using data from the Women's
Health Initiative found that risk of all-cause mortality was higher among
postmenopausal women veterans than among postmenopausal non-veterans despite
similar risk for postmenopausal cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, or hip
fractures. The study, "Prospective Analysis of Health and Mortality Risk in Veteran and
Non-Veteran Participants in the Women’s Health Initiative," has been published online
ahead of print and will appear in the November/December issue of the journal Women's
Health Issues.
The lead author of the study is Julie Weitlauf, Ph.D., Director of the Women’s Mental
Health and Aging Core of the VISN 21 Mental Illness, Research, Education and Clinical
Center of the Veterans Administration Palo Alto Health Care System and Clinical
Associate Professor (Affiliated) of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford
University. She and her colleagues analyzed data from the Women's Health Initiative on
postmenopausal women—141,009 non-veterans and 3,706 veterans—who were between
ages 50 and 79 when they enrolled. Participants were recruited from 1993 to 1998 at 40
sites around the U.S., and this study uses follow-up data collected through 2011 with
annual questionnaires and medical examinations.
This is one of the first large-scale investigations of postmenopausal health among
women veterans. Moreover, as nearly half of the veteran women participants in the
Women’s Health Initiative are of ages consistent with eligibility for military service prior
to the Vietnam war, this study represents one of the only to date to address
postmenopausal health and mortality risk among the oldest generation of women
veterans living in the U.S. today—those who served in World War II and the Korean
War. Though examination of the mechanistic factors underlying heightened mortality
risk among women veteran participants in WHI were beyond the scope of this work, the
authors recommend that future research further explore risk factors such as smoking
and specific forms of cancer affecting postmenopausal women veterans. "It is our hope
that this work will encourage further research efforts that will further deepen our
understanding of this unique population of women," they conclude.
The full text of this article is available for free on the Women's Health Issues website.
For more studies on women veterans, see the journal's 2014 Special Collection on
Women Veterans' Health and the 2011 special supplement Health and Health Care of
Women Veterans and Women in the Military.
September 9, 2015
New Study in Women's Health Issues: Alzheimer’s Puts Heavier Economic
Burden on Women
Women are not only at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) when
compared to men; per capita, they also bear six times the cost of AD care that men do,
reports a study published today in the journal Women’s Health Issues. Authors Zhou
Yang of Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and Allan Levey of the
Emory University School of Medicine used a lifetime perspective to calculate AD costs to
women and men based on three factors: the probability of developing AD, the disease’s
duration, and the required formal or informal care for the patients.
Women’s greater cost burden, they report, is largely due to the informal care they
deliver to family members with Alzheimer’s disease and the lack of Medicaid relief for
caregiving.
“As Baby Boomers age, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia will place a
greater strain on our healthcare system and on families,” said Chloe E. Bird, PhD,
editor-in-chief of Women’s Health Issues. “This study demonstrates the importance of
policies to address the needs not only of patients but of caregivers, the majority of whom
are women.”
Women’s Health Issues is the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health,
which is based at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington
University. The article, "Gender Differences: A Lifetime Analysis of the Economic
Burden of Alzheimer’s Disease," appears in the September/October edition of Women’s
Health Issues.
Yang and Levey used 2000-2010 data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, a
nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries that merges survey responses
with Medicare and Medicaid claims data. They calculated costs for clinical care paid by
Medicare; long-term-care (LTC) costs paid by Medicaid; out-of-pocket costs for care at
home or in assisted living facilities; and the costs of informal, uncompensated care.
When considering aggregate costs for the Baby Boom generation, care for women with
AD costs more than care for men with AD across the lifetime, the authors found, with a
women-to-men cost ratio of 1.5 for Medicare costs, 2.2 for Medicaid costs, and 5.8 for
out-of-pocket payments for assisted living and home health care. By far the greatest
difference is in the informal care, though: Yang and Levey, who initiated this study in
consultation with the advocacy group WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s, report that women
provide informal, uncompensated AD care worth 20 times the care from men.
Some female caregivers are still in the workforce and must juggle unpaid care with job
and other family responsibilities. Others are older and often struggling with health or
economic problems of their own, yet still provide many hours of unpaid care to a spouse
or other family members, the authors say. Alzheimer’s can last up to ten years, and
caregiving can be physically and psychologically demanding as well as exact a financial
toll that is often shouldered by women.
Yang and Levey go on to note that advances to cure, prevent, or postpone the onset of
AD would ease the disproportionate burden on women. They also urge policy reforms,
including reforms to Medicare and Medicaid payments to meet the needs of AD patients
and their families.
“Public policy interventions that aim at curing or slowing the progress of AD, as well as
those meeting the special home health care or long-term care need of the AD patients,
will greatly benefit the welfare and economic status of women,” Yang says.
To interview Zhou Yang contact Robin Reese at 404-727-9371 or
robin.j.reese@emory.edu.
August 26, 2015
New Study in Women’s Health Issues: Screening Mammography in a Public
Hospital Serving Predominantly African-American Women
Findings from a new study of women diagnosed with breast cancer at Grady Memorial
Hospital in Atlanta suggest that low-income African-American women treated at urban
public hospitals may benefit from the use of American Cancer Society (ACS) screening
mammography guidelines rather than the most recent US Preventive Services Task
Force (USPSTF) recommendations. This is among the conclusions from the Editor’s
Choice study in the latest issue of the journal Women’s Health Issues, “Screening
Mammography in a Public Hospital Serving Predominantly African-American Women:
A Stage–Survival–Cost Model.”
In the study Clara Farley, of Emory University School of Medicine, and her colleagues
reviewed the charts of 274 women diagnosed with stage I, II, or III breast cancer at
Grady Memorial Hospital from 2008 and 2010, and estimated cohort survival and costs
under both observed and hypothetical scenarios. The study sample was 83% AfricanAmerican and 96% publicly insured or uninsured. For this group, the authors'
simulation found that if the women had annual screening mammography beginning at
age 40 (as the ACS guidelines recommend), more of the cancers would be caught sooner
and more women would survive five years after diagnosis than if the women had
screening mammograms every two years beginning at age 50 (as the USPSTF guidelines
recommend).
The USPSTF guidelines do state, "The decision to start regular, biennial screening
mammography before the age of 50 years should be an individual one and take patient
context into account." Women with an elevated risk of breast cancer may wish to discuss
with their healthcare providers beginning screening mammography sooner or having it
more frequently than the USPSTF guidelines advise.
Farley and her colleagues note that research has found "wide ethnic and socioeconomic
variations in breast cancer patterns," with African-American women being more likely
than Caucasian women to be diagnosed with breast cancer at younger ages. They write
that their study findings "support the continued use of ACS screening schedules in lowincome African-American women treated in urban public hospitals."
The full text of this Editor’s Choice article is available for free on the Women’s Health
Issues website. Editor’s Choice articles from past issues are listed on the Free Editor’s
Choice Collection Page.
August 19, 2015
New Commentary in Women's Health Issues: Advancing Women’s Heart
Health
Research and care for women’s heart health has improved substantially over the past
three decades, but cardiovascular disease is still the top cause of death for US women. In
a commentary published today in the journal Women’s Health Issues, Sharonne N.
Hayes, MD and colleagues from the Scientific Advisory Council of WomenHeart: The
National Coalition for Women With Heart Disease explore the recent advances and key
unanswered research questions for women’s cardiovascular health.
Women’s Health Issues is the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health,
which is based at the Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at
the George Washington University. The commentary, "Taking a Giant Step Toward
Women’s Heart Health: Finding Policy Solutions to Unanswered Research Questions,"
has been published online ahead of print and will appear in the September/October
edition of Women’s Health Issues. Susan F. Wood, PhD, executive director of the Jacobs
Institute and associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management
at Milken Institute SPH, is a co-author of the paper.
The authors recommend that policy change and research investment focus on answering
three key questions, which address disparities in the occurrence and outcomes of
cardiovascular disease in men and women; strategies to modify women’s risk of heart
disease; and the biological variables that influence the development and outcomes of
heart disease in women. These questions, they explain, will be central to the upcoming
October 2015 National Policy & Science Summit on Cardiovascular Health, which
WomenHeart is convening to bring together women with heart disease and leaders in
women’s cardiovascular health. The goal, Hayes and her colleagues write, “is to develop
a patient-centered holistic approach to sex- and gender-specific heart health that is
supported by research and policies addressing women’s needs.”
July 27, 2015
New Study in Women's Health Issues: Alcohol Use and Unintended Sexual
Consequences
Research has demonstrated the link between alcohol and unintended sexual
consequences, but a better understanding of alcohol’s role in such events can improve
efforts to reduce emotional and physical harms among women who experience these
consequences. In a study published today in the journal Women’s Health Issues, Dinah
Lewis and colleagues from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine report
results from their study involving in-depth interviews with 20 women who attended a
sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic in Baltimore and reported recent binge
drinking or engaging in intercourse while under the influence of alcohol. Study
participants reported binge drinking in clubs increased their vulnerability to male
targeting, often resulting in unintended sexual consequences.
Women’s Health Issues is the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health,
which is based at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington
University. The article, "Alcohol Use and Unintended Sexual Consequences among
Women Attending an Urban Sexually Transmitted Infections Clinic," has been
published online ahead of print and will appear in the September/October edition of
Women’s Health Issues.
The authors’ analysis of the interviews identified five major unintended sexual events
occurring while under the influence of alcohol: sex with new partners, often strangers;
engaging in types of sexual activity that they would not engage in while sober; “blackedout sex,” or alcohol-related amnesia about sexual activities; unprotected sex; and rape.
Interventions to reduce harm should involve both women and men, the authors suggest.
They highlight particularly promising interventions that address the discrepancy
between what women expect to occur when they drink and what may actually happen.
June 16, 2015
Women's Health Issues Awards 2014 Gibbs Leadership Prize to Study on
Sexual Behaviors and Bullying in High School Students
The Editorial Board of Women’s Health Issues is pleased to announce that the Charles
E. Gibbs Leadership Prize for the best paper published in Women's Health Issues in
2014 (Volume 24) has been awarded to Hailee K. Dunn, MPH, a PhD student in clinical
psychology at the University of Rhode Island. Dunn's manuscript, “Association between
Sexual Behaviors, Bullying Victimization and Suicidal Ideation in a National Sample of
High School Students: Implications of a Sexual Double Standard,” was co-authored by
Annie Gjelsvik, PhD; Deborah N. Pearlman, PhD; and Melissa A. Clark, PhD. The
manuscript was published in Women's Health Issues Volume 24, Issue 5
(September/October 2014), pages 567-574.
In the study, Dunn and her colleagues analyzed data on 13,065 high school students
from the nationally representative 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. They found that
students who reported having engaged in sexual intercourse were more likely to report
having been bullied (at school or electronically) over the past 12 months than students
who did not report intercourse experience. They also found that girls who engaged in
sexual intercourse were more likely to be bullied than were boys who engaged in sexual
intercourse. Students of both genders who reported both engaging in intercourse and
being bullied had more than five times the adjusted odds of depression and three times
the adjusted odds of suicidal ideation when compared to students who reported neither
of these experiences.
The authors explain that their finding of a stronger association between sexual
intercourse and bullying victimization in girls than in boys provides “some evidence that
girls are held to different sexual standards than boys." They recommend that "schoolbased bullying interventions should address peer norms regarding sexual behaviors,
attitudes toward the sexual double standard and more broadly, attitudes and norms
regarding traditional gender roles held in U.S. culture."
The Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize is awarded annually to recognize excellence in
research on women’s health care or policy. Priority is given to manuscripts that report
the results of original research and that improve understanding of an important
women’s health issue. Members of the staff and Editorial Board of Women’s Health
Issues are not eligible. The prize includes a $1,000 award.
“The Editorial Board congratulates Hailee Dunn and her colleagues for producing a
study that is methodologically strong and has clear policy implications,” said Chloe Bird,
Editor-in-Chief of Women’s Health Issues. “It is an important contribution to the
ongoing discussions about how best to prevent and address bullying in school.” Bird
presented the prize to Dunn at the Gender & Health Interest Group session at the
AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting on June 13th.
The Women’s Health Issues Editorial Board also designated two excellent manuscripts
in 2014 to receive “Honorable Mention" recognition:
“Selected Preconception Health Indicators and Birth Weight Disparities in a National
Study” by Kelly L. Strutz, PhD, MPH; Liana J. Richardson, PhD, MPH; and Jon M.
Hussey, PhD, MPH. Published in Volume 24, Issue 1 (January/February), pages e89–
e97.
“Maternal Morbidities and Postpartum Depression: An Analysis Using the 2007 and
2008 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System” by Swathy Sundaram, PhD,
MPH; Jeffrey S. Harman, PhD; and Robert L. Cook, MD, MPH. Published in Volume 24,
Issue 4 (July/August), pages e381–e388.
Previous winners of the Gibbs Prize include:
Cynthia LeardMann, MPH (2013)
Nathan L. Hale, PhD (2012)
Jacqueline L. Angel, PhD (2011)
Diana Greene Foster, PhD (2010)
Paula Lantz, PhD (2009)
Sherry Glied, PhD (2008)
Richard C. Lindrooth, PhD (2007)
Joan S. Tucker, PhD (2006)
JiWon R. Lee, MS, RD, MPH (2005)
Dawn M. Upchurch, PhD (2004)
Sherry L. Grace, PhD (2003)
Sarah Hudson Scholle, DrPH (2002)
Sandra K. Pope, PhD (2001)
Ilene Hyman, PhD (2000)
Usha Sambamaoorthi, PhD (1999)
Claire Murphy, MD (1997)
Barbara A. Bartman, MD, MPH (1996)
The Charles E. Gibbs Leadership Prize was established to honor the founding President
of the Board of Governors of the Jacobs Institute of Women Health. Charles E. Gibbs,
MD (1923–2000) was a Fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists (ACOG) and past chair of ACOG’s Committee on Health Care for
Underserved Women, the Task Force on the Voluntary Review of Quality of Care, the
Health Care Commission, and the Task Force on Maternal Health Policy. Dr. Gibbs
served on the Jacobs Institute of Women Health Board of Governors from 1990–1999
and was instrumental in shaping the Institute’s mission and structure.
May 6, 2015
New Commentary in Women's Health Issues: Trauma-Informed Primary
Care
Media Contact: Kathy Fackelmann, kfackelmann@gwu.edu, 202-994-8354
WASHINGTON, DC (May 6, 2015) — Patients with a history of trauma can benefit from
working with healthcare providers who understand trauma’s role in health and can offer
resources to assist with healing. A commentary published today in the journal Women's
Health Issues proposes an approach to providing such trauma-informed primary care
(TIPC). Edward L. Machtinger, MD, director of the Women’s HIV Program (WHP) at
the University of California, San Francisco, and his co-authors identify four core
components of a TIPC approach: environment, screening, response, and a robust
organizational foundation.
Women’s Health Issues is the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health,
which is based at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington
University. The commentary, "From Treatment to Healing: The Promise of TraumaInformed Primary Care," appears in the May/June edition of Women’s Health Issues.
To develop the proposed framework, Machtinger and his colleagues drew on the work of
the National Strategy Group to Develop a Model of Trauma-informed Primary Care,
which WHP and the Positive Women’s Network—USA convened in 2013.
Trauma is an especially important factor in women’s health. The landmark Adverse
Childhood Experiences (ACE) study found that women were more likely than men to
report a high number of adverse childhood experiences (including physical or sexual
abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction). As adults, many women experience physical
violence and/or rape from an intimate partner.
For primary-care practices seeking to become trauma-informed, Machtinger and his
colleagues recommend getting training on trauma and health for all staff members and
creating a physical space that provides opportunities for privacy, confidentiality, and
community. They suggest that practices routinely screen patients for trauma and, when
patients disclose trauma, be prepared to respond supportively and offer specific steps
such as safety assessments and referrals for community resources. A strong
organizational foundation that includes respect for patient choices, support for staff,
and local partnerships is essential, the authors explain. Practices adopting this kind of
trauma-informed approach can partner effectively with trauma survivors for better
health outcomes and quality of life, the authors say.
About Women’s Health Issues:
Women's Health Issues is the official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's
Health, and the only journal devoted exclusively to women's health care and policy
issues. The journal has a particular focus on women's issues in the context of the U.S.
health care delivery system and policymaking processes, although it invites
submissions addressing women's health care issues in global context if relevant to
North American readers. It is a journal for health professionals, social scientists,
policymakers, and others concerned with the complex and diverse facets of health care
delivery and policy for women. For more information about the journal, please visit
http://www.whijournal.com.
About Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington
University:
Established in July 1997 as the School of Public Health and Health Services, Milken
Institute School of Public Health is the only school of public health in the nation’s
capital. Today, more than 1,700 students from almost every U.S. state and 39
countries pursue undergraduate, graduate and doctoral-level degrees in public health.
The school also offers an online Master of Public Health, MPH@GW, and an online
Executive Master of Health Administration, MHA@GW, which allow students to
pursue their degree from anywhere in the world.
April 15, 2015
New Study in Women's Health Issues: Sex Differences in Home-Based Care
Media Contact: Kathy Fackelmann, kfackelmann@gwu.edu, 202-994-8354
WASHINGTON, DC (April 15, 2015)—Are there differences in the quality of care
provided to men and women receiving publicly funded home care services in Ontario,
Canada? An article published today in the journal Women's Health Issues investigates
this question, as well as differences between patient outcomes in the Canadian
province's 14 health planning regions. In the study, Amanda T. Lo, of St. Michael's
Hospital in Toronto, and her colleagues found while there were sizable differences in
outcomes before adjustment, no important differences in outcomes between men and
women remained after risk adjustment. This indicates that sex-specific strategies will be
needed to improve the quality and outcomes of home care services.
Women’s Health Issues is the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health,
which is based at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington
University. The article, "Sex Differences in Home Care Performance: A PopulationBased Study," was published online April 15, 2015 and will appear in the May/June
edition of Women’s Health Issues.
The study analyzed data from the Home Care Reporting System database collected on
nearly 120,000 residents of Ontario 65 and older who received publicly funded home
care service for 60 days or more between April 2009 and March 2010. It used four
quality indicators to determine whether men and women were receiving the same
quality of service: decline or failure to improve in the activities of daily living such as
bathing, dressing and eating, cognitive functioning, symptoms of depression and pain
control.
The authors found there were important differences between men and women receiving
home care in the health outcomes that matter to patients, such as pain and ability to
care for themselves. But those differences disappeared when the quality indicators were
risk-adjusted for clinical conditions such as mobility or dementia, or for caregiver stress.
After risk adjustment there were geographic differences in quality of home care across
Ontario’s 14 Local Health Integration Network health-planning regions. The authors
note that the differences indicate the potential to improve home care services for both
men and women.
The full text of the article, "Sex Differences in Home Care Performance: A PopulationBased Study," is available on the Women’s Health Issues website.
January 28, 2015
Women's Health Issues Launches Special Collection on Women’s Heart
Health
Media Contact: Kathy Fackelmann, kfackelmann@gwu.edu, 202-994-8354
WASHINGTON, DC (January 28, 2015)—Today the peer-reviewed journal Women's
Health Issues (WHI) released a new Special Collection on Women’s Heart Health, with a
focus on improving healthcare services to women at risk for cardiovascular disease. The
special collection also highlights recent studies addressing social determinants of health
and physical activity in women of different backgrounds.
"Many people still don't realize that heart disease is the number one killer of women,"
said Chloe Bird, editor-in-chief of Women’s Health Issues and a senior sociologist at
RAND. “Women should be getting treated for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and
other conditions that pose risks to their long-term cardiovascular health – but research
is finding that education and healthcare still need to improve so women get the
necessary preventive care.”
Women’s Health Issues is the official journal of the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health,
which is based at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington
University. This Special Collection includes 20 articles published between mid-2011 and
early 2015.
Several of the studies in the collection demonstrate the need to improve healthcare
services to assure that both women and men receive appropriate care to control risk
factors for cardiovascular disease. Two of the studies in the special collection analyzed
data on veterans' health and found higher LDL cholesterol levels among women
veterans than their male counterparts. A third found a greater proportion of women
veterans with elevated LDL cholesterol levels, and concluded that individual patientlevel factors could only explain one-third of the difference.
Researchers are working to identify reasons why women’s cholesterol might be more
poorly controlled than men’s. A study involving veterans found that providers were less
likely to order or adjust cholesterol medications for women veterans than for male
veterans, while women were more likely than men to be unwilling to take such
medications. And a study in the general population involving patients from seven
outpatient clinics found that women and men received comparable care for diabetes and
lipid management. However, more of the women reported that due to side effects or
costs, they were not taking the lipid-lowering medications they were prescribed.
Such findings fit with a previous report that concluded that gaps persist in our
understanding of how cardiovascular disease affects women. That report noted that
many questions still remain about gender differences in this arena, including how best
to treat women with heart disease. The report authors, including Jacobs Institute of
Women’s Health Executive Director Susan Wood as well as colleagues at the Mary
Horrigan Connors Center for Women's Health & Gender Biology and the Kaiser Family
Foundation, called for researchers to push forward with investigations of women and
heart disease. Studies in this collection help address that need, Wood says.
At the same time, additional education on what we do know about treating women with
heart disease may be necessary to assure that healthcare providers are fully equipped to
help female patients reduce their risk--and two studies in the collection address this.
One study involved focus groups with obstetrician/gynecologist (OBGYN) residents and
practicing physicians, and concluded, “Additional training, development of referral
networks, and access to local and practice specific data are needed to support an
increased role for the OBGYN in the prevention of cardiovascular disease in women.” A
second report, one that evaluated the “Heart Truth” education campaign for healthcare
providers, found that doctors and other health professionals who attended Heart Truth
educational lectures improved their knowledge on cardiovascular disease prevention in
women.
“There is a growing understanding of the need to address heart disease in women,” said
Bird. “As the studies in this collection show, though, we still need more research and
education to assure that healthcare providers can provide the best care to both men and
women, and for women to be able to work together with their healthcare teams to keep
their hearts healthy.”
The Women’s Health Issues Special Collection on Women’s Heart Health is available
online, and all articles can be accessed for free during February 2015. A previous special
collection addressed Women Veterans' Health.
About Women’s Health Issues:
Women's Health Issues is the official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's
Health, and the only journal devoted exclusively to women's health care and policy
issues. The journal has a particular focus on women's issues in the context of the U.S.
health care delivery system and policymaking processes, although it invites
submissions addressing women's health care issues in global context if relevant to
North American readers. It is a journal for health professionals, social scientists,
policymakers, and others concerned with the complex and diverse facets of health care
delivery and policy for women. For more information about the journal, please visit
http://www.whijournal.com.
About Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington
University:
Established in July 1997 as the School of Public Health and Health Services, Milken
Institute School of Public Health is the only school of public health in the nation’s
capital. Today, nearly 1,534 students from almost every U.S. state and more than 45
countries pursue undergraduate, graduate and doctoral-level degrees in public health.
The school also offers an online Master of Public Health, MPH@GW, and an online
Executive Master of Health Administration, MHA@GW, which allow students to
pursue their degree from anywhere in the world.
Research Projects
The Jacobs Institute works with GW and external colleagues on the following projects:
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Confidential and Covered: Analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing Title
X providers of family-planning services to low-income women, as they determine how
best to maintain confidentiality while billing insurers for covered services (in
partnership with the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association,
funded by the DHHS Office of Population Affairs)
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Bridging the Divide: A project that brings together researchers, policy-makers, and
policy advocates with an active interest in women’s health issues in order to improve
improve the impact of each community in advancing their common goals (funded by an
anonymous donor)
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ADVHOCAT: Accomplishments of the Domestic Violence Hotline, On-line
Connections, and Text: Evaluation of the efficacy of support and resources provided
by the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the National Dating Abuse Helpline
(funded by the DHHS Administration for Children and Families)
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Evaluation of Make the Call, Don’t Miss a Beat Campaign: Evaluation of the
DHHS Office on Women’s Health (OWH) “Make The Call, Don’t Miss A Beat” campaign,
which aimed to increase women’s 9-1-1 calls in response to heart attack symptoms
(funded by OWH)
Recent past projects include the following:
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Teen Pregnancy Prevention/ Empowering Latino Youth: Study of the
effectiveness of the “Be Yourself/ Sé Tu Mismo” intervention for reducing the teen
pregnancy rate among Latino youth in Washington, DC and Montgomery County,
Maryland (funded by the DHHS Office of Adolescent Health)
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Community Health Centers and Family Planning: Surveys of federally qualified
health centers and their patients explore family-planning services that health centers
provide and the challenges they face in doing so (funded by an anonymous donor)
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Achieving Healthy Weight Among Lesbian and Bisexual Women: Study of the
effectiveness of “MOVE: Making Our Vitality Evident,” an intervention to help lesbian
and bisexual women achieve and maintain healthy body weights (partnership between
GW, the Mautner Project of Whitman-Walker Health, and Vanderbilt University,
funded by OWH)
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Women's Health and Health Insurance Exchanges: Creation of resources to
assist in the implementation of state health insurance exchanges developed under the
Affordable Care Act, with a focus on preventive care for women, health disparities in
women, and family planning and reproductive health (in partnership with the Mary
Horrigan Connors Center for Women's Health and Gender Biology and the Henry J.
Kaiser Family Foundation)
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Continuing Medical Education for Women’s Cardiovascular Health:
Development of "Heart Truth" continuing medical education training modules for
clinicians, based on 2011 American Heart Association Guidelines on Women a
Cardiovascular Disease (funded by OWH)
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Legislative Training Program for NIH Research Scholars: Workshops on the
federal legislative process and Congressional committees, laws, and proposals with
major effects on women’s health for scholars in the NIH Building Interdisciplinary
Research Careers in Women’s Health program (supported by the NIH Office of
Research on Women’s Health)
Schiffer Fellows
Clara Schiffer Project on Women’s Health
The Jacobs Institute of Women's Health is pleased to announce the establishment of the
Clara Schiffer Project on Women’s Health, honoring the legacy of social-justice advocate
and GW supporter Clara Schiffer. The Clara Schiffer Project will provide financial
support for graduate students to participate in either student- and faculty-directed
research designed to improve women’s health and facilitate communication around
women’s health issues. Eligible students must be currently enrolled in either the MPH,
MSPH, or MHA program or a relevant doctoral program (see requirements by student
type below) and must not be full-time GW employees.
Funding & Application Timeline
Eligible students may apply for up to $5,000 in funding for a one-time award. The first
award will provide support for research activities starting in the Spring 2016 semester.
Applications for the Spring 2016 fellowship will be due November 16, 2015. Fellowship
award announcements will be made in December 2015.
Clara Schiffer Doctoral Fellows
The Clara Schiffer Fellowship is available for doctoral students conducting dissertation
research on a topic related to women’s health across the lifespan. The application for
funding must be made just prior to proposal defense, for one year following proposal
approval. Funding may be used for limited salary support (no more than 50% of total
award) or supplies, travel, database acquisition, specific training requirements, and/or
other dissertation-related costs. The doctoral dissertation and any papers generated
from the research must acknowledge support from the Schiffer Fellowship and will be
submitted to JIWH for posting on the website.
Doctoral students may apply for up to $5,000 in funding for the entire project period.
All funds must be spent within a single calendar year, and a written progress report (no
more than 5 pages) must be provided at the end of the funding period; the full
dissertation may serve in lieu of the progress report if it is completed and defended
within the one-year funding period.
During the funding period, doctoral fellows will also participate in regular roundtable
discussions (approximately four times per year) with JIWH-affiliated faculty. These
lunchtime roundtables will create an opportunity for mentoring and learning about
ongoing research, while creating a community of fellows and faculty with ongoing
connections. Additionally, fellows will participate in events dedicated to women’s health
issues during the spring Public Health Week events (April 4-10, 2016).
Doctoral Fellow Application Requirements
Doctoral-level applicants must provide:
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An abstract from the proposed dissertation
A brief essay describing the proposed research topic, student responsibilities, and brief
explanation of how funds will be used; this essay should not exceed 500 words
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A current CV
A copy of an official or unofficial transcript from GW
A brief letter of support from the dissertation committee chair, which must include a
statement about the feasibility of the proposed research project and a statement of
support for the student and his/her work; letters should not exceed 500 words; no more
than one letter will be accepted
The student’s GWID
Please combine all documents into a single PDF for submission. Letters from
committee chairs should not be sent separately.
Clara Schiffer Masters Fellows
The Clara Schiffer Fellowship is available for masters level students (including joint
degree students) working with faculty members as hourly research assistants on projects
related to women’s health across the lifespan. Funding is available only for hourly work,
up to 15 hours per week for up to 6 months.
Students must contact faculty members in advance to establish their role on a research
project directed by that faculty member. Students may create sub-projects within
existing projects or may perform work already planned. At the completion of the
fellowship, fellows must provide some type of written report detailing their work over
course of the fellowship; this report may take the form of a manuscript, abstract, poster,
or other format previously agreed upon with the fellow’s faculty preceptor. Research
reports from fellows and faculty will be posted online to the Milken Institute School of
Public Health/JIWH site and may also be submitted to the journal Women’s Health
Issues.
Upon request, students may delay project work for up to six months, but all project work
must be completed within the calendar year (by the end of December).
Projects with a focus on engaging community organizations or individuals in the
community will be given priority in the application process. Projects/findings will be
presented at GWSPH research day as poster presentations and made available on the
JIWH website.
During the funding period, fellows will also participate in regular roundtable discussions
(approximately two times per semester) with JIWH-affiliated faculty. These lunchtime
roundtables will create an opportunity for mentoring and learning about ongoing
research, while creating a community of fellows and faculty with ongoing connections.
Additionally, fellows will participate in events dedicated to women’s health issues during
the spring Public Health Week events (April 4-10, 2016).
Masters Fellow Application Requirements
Masters-level applicants must provide:
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An essay describing the proposed research topic, the student’s role/responsibilities, the
project timeline, and the type of written product that will be provided at the end of the
project period; this essay should not exceed 500 words
A current resume
A copy of an official or unofficial transcript from GW
A brief letter of support from the faculty member who will serve as preceptor/advisor for
the research project, which must include a description of the proposed or existing

project, and a description of the student’s responsibilities on the project; letters should
not exceed 500 words, and no more than one letter will be accepted
The student’s GWID and date of anticipated graduation
Please combine all documents into a single PDF for submission. Letters from faculty
members should not be sent separately.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 16
Please submit completed application package to:
Susan F. Wood, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management
Director, Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
The George Washington University
Milken Institute School of Public Health
950 New Hampshire Ave, NW
Floor 2
Washington, DC 20052
202-994-4171
sfwood@gwu.edu
Please submit applications as a single, combined PDF with all required
documentation, including your GWID.
About
Founded in 1990, the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health works to improve women’s
health through research, dialogue, teaching, and information dissemination. Our
mission is to:
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Identify and study aspects of healthcare and public health, including legal and policy
issues, that affect women’s health at different life stages;
Foster awareness of and facilitate dialogue around issues that affect women’s health;
and
Promote interdisciplinary research, coordination, and information dissemination on
women’s health issues.
The Jacobs Institute focuses primarily on the health of U.S. women, while also
collaborating with colleagues who work internationally.
The Jacobs Institute promotes environments where an interdisciplinary audience –
including healthcare professionals, researchers, policymakers, and advocates – comes
together to discuss ways to advance women’s health.
Susan F. Wood, PhD is the Executive Director of the Jacobs Institute. Liz Borkowski,
MPH is the Managing Director.
Contact
Jacobs Institute of Women's Health
Milken Institute School of Public Health
The George Washington University
950 New Hampshire Ave., NW, 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20052
Liz Borkowski, MPH
Managing Director
202-994-0034
WHIeditor@gwu.edu
Milken Institute School of Public Health
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