Our Experts Sound Off on Health

Submitted by ncrw on Fri, 10/24/2008 - 12:34pm

October 24, 2008 posted by Linda Basch

 

As the election draws near, I’m pleased to announce a series of  posts this week from our experts responding to current hot topics in health.  

 

We’ve asked these experts for their thoughts on how health care policies affect men and women differently.  We’ve asked them to identify key priorities for improving women's health.  And we’ve also asked them to identify the changes related to health they would most like to see implemented by a new administration.

 

As many in our network are well aware, women and men are often differently at risk for a variety of diseases and conditions.  Racial disparities in the delivery of care abound. 

 

An estimated 29% of Latinas and more than 20% of African American women report being in fair or poor health, compared with 13% of white women.   And issues of reproductive justice continue to shape our policy debates.  As an AP article noted last week, “Two years after South Dakotans rejected a nearly total ban on abortion, voters on November 4th will decide another sweeping but less restrictive ballot measure that would probably send a legal challenge of Roe v. Wade to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

 

While there may be only two more weeks until the election, the wide array of women’s health issues will not so soon be resolved.  We have much at stake, and much work to do.  I hope you will join me in sharing the posts from our experts, once they are live, with those who can use this information most.   

 

Links:

Latinas’ “Cafecito” with the Presidential Candidates by Silvia Henriquez

Health Care Tops the List of Women’s Concerns for Families by Amy Allina

“Real Change, Not Reform!” by Ruth E. Zambrana

 

 

 

 


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Comments

[...] Improving Women’s Health [...]
There is no better time than right now for all women from every walk of life and every ethnic group to make sure that our voices are heard. The issues are many and the days are drawing near. Our leadership on health is vital and can not be underestimated. Regardless of the outcome, if we do not stand up for our health, there never will be a solution to the many disparities facing women's health. Changes in the Administration will mean changes in the way we have failed to prioritize women's health due to biases and political measures that were not always based on solid data, real evidence and representative of those who are affected by the issue. We are the "tides that bind" and the work is up to all of us.