Disparities & Access

Many of the health challenges faced by women are a result of insufficient access to basic prevention information, health services and insurance coverage. In the pharmaceutical and health industries, the gender dimensions of diseases and treatments are often overlooked in setting research priorities and developing new products. The availability and quality of health care may vary according to race, income, ability, geographic location or immigration status. In the U.S., finding affordable health insurance is particularly challenging for women, who often pay higher premiums than men. Many insurance companies fail to cover or provide adequate maternity care or essential reproductive health services. Additionally, women experience more part-time and interrupted jobs and careers due to caregiving and family responsibilities and require portable health plans that provide stable coverage.

Study: Teen access to Plan B uneven

Teaser:

Since 2009 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has mandated that Plan B and other emergency contraceptives be available without a prescription to women age 17 and up. In reality, a new study suggests, a 17-year-old's access to these drugs can be uncertain.

Editorial:

From CNN:

In the study, two female research assistants at Boston University called every commercial pharmacy in five major cities and asked whether emergency contraception was available to them that day. If the answer was yes, they followed up with the question "If I'm 17, is that okay?"

At that point, 19% of the pharmacy workers told the young women that contraception would not be available to them. When researchers posing as doctors called the same pharmacies on behalf of a (fictional) 17-year-old patient, however, just 3% of pharmacies said the drugs weren't available.

Pharmacies, moreover, incorrectly reported the age guidelines for over-the-counter access to 43% of the "girls" and 39% of the "doctors," according to the study, which appears in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics.

[...]

Source:

CNN

URL:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/26/health/teen-contraception-access/

Date:

March 27, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Expert Profile

Location:

United States

32° 13' 59.8224" N, 110° 56' 55.6836" W

See map: Google Maps

Member Organizations:

Southwest Institute for Research on Women

Sally Stevens is the Executive Director of the University of Arizona - Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW) and a Distinguished Outreach Professor in the Department of Gender and Women's Studies. Dr. Stevens conducts collaborative process and outcome studies in the area of health disparities, substance abuse and mental health, HIV and other infectious diseases, and innovations in education. Much of her work is community-based with a focus on gender and culture. Dr. Stevens has published numerous articles and edited several collected volumes on these topics. Her most recent article is titled Meeting the Substance Abuse Treatment Needs of Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Women: Implications from Research to Practice. Dr. Stevens conducts workshops and trainings on substance abuse and mental health treatment approaches, diversity and equity, community-based participatory action research, and program evaluation.

Location

Tucson, AZ 85721

United States

32° 13' 59.8224" N, 110° 56' 55.6836" W

See map: Google Maps

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Indigenous Women's Dialogue - Roundtable Report on the Accessibility of Plan B as an Over The Counter (OTC) Within Indian Health Service - February 2012

Submitted by asklar on Thu, 03/22/2012 - 11:02am

In most of the United States, a woman 17 years or older who needs Plan B, an emergency contraceptive that can prevent pregnancy up to 72 hours after intercourse, can walk up to a pharmacy counter and request it without a prescription.

But for Native American women served by the Indian Health Service, obtaining Plan B might require a drive of hundreds of miles, a wait beyond the pill's window of effectiveness, and a price beyond what the IHS would charge.

(From Local10.com)

URL:

http://www.nativeshop.org/images/stories/media/pdfs/Plan-B-Report.pdf

Black women more likely to die of breast cancer

Teaser:

More than 1,700 black women die of breast cancer every year in the United States because of racial disparities in cancer risks and access to care, suggests a new study.

Editorial:

From Reuters:

Researchers who calculated cancer death rates in 24 of the largest U.S. cities found that in 13 of them, black women were significantly more likely to die of breast cancer than white women.

That's despite the evidence that white women are more likely than blacks to get breast cancer in the first place.

"It's unfortunate that this disparity exists and we all need to work hard to overcome it," said Marc Hurlbert, one of the researchers on the new study from the Avon Foundation for Women, which funded the report.

"The good news is it's a solvable problem, because some cites are doing better than others," he said.

Of the cities where black women were more likely to die of breast cancer, that disparity ranged from a 24 percent higher risk of death in New York to more than twice the risk of death in Memphis between 2005 and 2007.

[...]

Source:

Reuters

URL:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/21/us-black-women-breast-cancer-idUSBRE82K1CZ20120321

Date:

March 22, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

The Affordable Care Act and Women’s Health: White House Roundtable

Teaser:

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments over the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s sweeping and controversial health care reform law, the White House hosted a roundtable discussion on the law’s impact on women and families. WebMD and 10 female-focused websites and bloggers were invited to join the discussion with Deputy Chief of Staff Nancy-Ann DeParle and Deputy Assistant to the President for Health Policy, Jeanne Lambrew.

Editorial:

From WebMD:

The Affordable Care Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010 and is rolling out over the course of four years. Its biggest impact, extending health insurance to approximately 30 million people, doesn’t kick in until 2014.

DeParle said that the biggest criticism of the law that contains the most misinformation is “that it does nothing to control costs.” As an example, she said that Medicare spending per beneficiary is about the lowest it has ever been. Lambrew added that the White House plans to release information Thursday indicating that premium growth has slowed for health insurance.

Another criticism DeParle addressed was the individual mandate, the part of the law that requires everyone to purchase health insurance. The mandate’s legality will be debated during next week’s Supreme Court hearings. “A lot of people think that the so-called individual mandate is a huge new imposition on their liberty based on what they’ve heard from some, when, in fact, for many, most, I suppose, Americans, nothing is going to change,” DeParle said. “They’ll just check a box that says ‘Yes, I have insurance.’” The government will help cover the cost of insurance for those who can’t afford it.

[...]

Source:

WebMD

URL:

http://blogs.webmd.com/breaking-news/2012/03/the-affordable-care-act-and-womens-health-white-house-roundtable.html

Date:

March 21, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

In Protest, Democrats Zero In On Men's Reproductive Health

Teaser:

For perhaps the first time in recent history, male reproductive health is at the forefront of political debate.

Editorial:

From NPR:

In at least six states, lawmakers — all women and all Democrats — have proposed bills or amendments in the last few weeks that aim to regulate a man's access to reproductive health care. It's their way of responding to the ongoing debate around contraception and abortion, said Jennifer Lawless, director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University.

Some would prohibit men from getting vasectomies, such as Georgia's House Bill 1116, which states:

"Thousands of children are deprived of birth in this state every year because of the lack of state regulation over vasectomies."

Others, like an amendment proposed by Oklahoma State Sen. Constance Johnson, restrict where a man can ejaculate, effectively outlawing all manner of sexual acts. The amendment says:

"Any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman's vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child."

And Ohio State Sen. Nina Turner recently put forward legislation that would require men seeking drugs like Viagra to first get a cardiac stress test to ensure their heart is ready for sexual activity. Oh, and they would also have to obtain certification from one of their recent sexual partners that they are indeed experiencing problems with erectile dysfunction. And they would be required to see a sex therapist before getting a prescription.

The bill states:

"The physician shall ensure that the sessions include information on nonpharmaceutical treatments for erectile dysfunction, including sexual counseling and resources for patients to pursue celibacy as a viable lifestyle choice."

[...]

Source:

NPR

URL:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/03/15/148695307/in-protest-democrats-zero-in-on-mens-reproductive-health

Date:

March 18, 2012

Affiliate:

Turning to Fairness: Insurance Discrimination Against Women Today and the Affordable Care Act

Submitted by asklar on Mon, 03/19/2012 - 10:47am

Through our research we have found that women are continuously charged more for health coverage simply because they are women, and individual market health plans often exclude coverage for services that only women need, like maternity coverage. The report provides an in-depth analysis of these inequalities and explains how the Affordable Care Act explicitly removes these discriminations by 2014.

Document(s): Turning to Fairness Report

URL:

http://www.nwlc.org/resource/report-turning-fairness-insurance-discrimination-against-women-today-and-affordable-care-ac

Member Organization:

National Women's Law Center

More is Sometimes Less: Women are Prescribed a Greater Number of Medications Than Men but Take Less of the Drugs They Need

Teaser:

There is a wide gender divide when it comes to how men and women are prescribed and adhere to their medications.

Editorial:

From the press release:

According to a new study, while women use more prescription drugs than men, they are less likely to be prescribed drugs according to clinical guidelines and are not as good about adhering to the medications they are prescribed. The research was conducted by Medco Health Solutions, Inc. and the Society for Women's Health Research and presented Saturday at Women's Health 2012: The 20th Annual Congress.

The study found that women of all ages use more medications - an average of five drugs, compared to less than four (3.7) drugs for men, and that more women than men (68 percent versus 59 percent) took at least one chronic or acute medication during the study period. The higher average persisted even after accounting for prescription contraceptives.

Despite higher utilization of medications, women were overall less adherent than men and not prescribed treatments in alignment with recommended guidelines as often as men. Differences were most dramatic among patients with cardiovascular disease and diabetes where women showed poorer outcomes than men in 25 out of 25 clinical measures.

For women, electing not to take a medication after they have already started could be due to a variety of reasons, including: adverse side effects; inability to tolerate the medication; or failure to see or feel improvements in their health. Some of these responses could be due to the fact that women are oftentimes prescribed drugs with guidelines and dosing based on research conducted predominately on male subjects.

[...]

Source:

Marketwatch

URL:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/more-is-sometimes-less-women-are-prescribed-a-greater-number-of-medications-than-men-but-take-less-of-the-drugs-they-need-2012-03-19

Date:

March 19, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Expert Profile

Location:

United States

34° 5' 48.0336" N, 117° 43' 11.2044" W

See map: Google Maps

Member Organizations:

Applied Women's Studies Program

Professor Deborah A. Freund is the 15th President of Claremont Graduate University (CGU) and is an internationally known health economist and outcomes researcher. She is particularly known for her work on total knee replacement and Medicaid. She brings extensive administrative experience to her service as president of Claremont Graduate University. Freund was vice chancellor and provost at Syracuse University from 1999-2006, and held the title of Distinguished Professor of Public Administration and Economics from Syracuse’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs beginning in 2004. In addition to her faculty position at the Maxwell School, she was a senior research associate at the school’s Center for Policy Research. She came to Syracuse University from Indiana University Bloomington (IU) where she was vice chancellor and dean of the faculties, and special advisor to the president and vice president of the IU System on Academic Affairs for five years.

Location

Claremont, CA 91711

United States

34° 5' 48.0336" N, 117° 43' 11.2044" W

See map: Google Maps

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood President: Mitt Romney's Plan To 'Get Rid Of' Us Won't Balance Budget

Teaser:

Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said that she was traveling in Texas Tuesday when she read about Mitt Romney's promise to "get rid of" Planned Parenthood in order to cut the deficit.

Editorial:

From the Huffington Post:

"I was really stunned to read that Mitt Romney has now said he wants to get rid of Planned Parenthood, because really what that means is he wants to get rid of preventative health care for 3 million folks every year," Richards told reporters on Wednesday.

"It shows an extraordinary lack of understanding of family planning and the budget to say one of the ways he's going save money in this country is by ending birth control and family planning," she added. "The most conservative economist will tell you that family planning saves money. It saves taxpayers money. It's ludicrous to think that Mitt Romney, who is running for president of the United States, thinks we're going to balance the budget by ending birth control access in this country."

[...]

Source:

Huffington Post

URL:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/14/cecile-richards-mitt-romney-planned-parenthood_n_1345479.html

Date:

March 15, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

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NCRW is a network of leading university and community based research, policy, and advocacy centers with a growing global reach dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls. We also have a Corporate Circle comprised of senior diversity professionals from leading U.S. and global member companies and a Presidents Circle of college and university leaders who share our commitment. NCRW harnesses the collective power of its network to provide knowledge, analysis, and thought leadership on issues ranging from reducing women’s poverty to building a critical mass of women’s leadership across sectors.

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