Women's Health Policy and Advocacy Program

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  About Us

The Women’s Health Policy and Advocacy Program is a core component of the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology. The program's mission is to inform and advance policy at all levels – local, state and national – to promote the highest standard of health and health care for all women.

Launched in 2003, the Women's Health Policy and Advocacy Program informs women’s health policy by leveraging the expertise and capacity of Brigham and Women’s Hospital as a nationally-ranked academic medical center. Policy recommendations are grounded in clinical practice as well as emerging sex and gender research. Areas of focus include clinical topics where gender biology plays a key role, such as heart disease and lung cancer, as well as broader concerns such as access, affordability, and the delivery of care to women.

Since its founding, the program has collaborated with policy leaders and women’s health organizations throughout the country to address key issues that disproportionately affect women as patients, caregivers, and managers of family health. The program’s work encompasses a broad spectrum of policy and advocacy activities, including:

• Analyzing health policy issues from a women's health perspective;
• Developing policy recommendations on current and emerging women’s health topics;
• Building bridges between the research, public policy, and medical communities;
• Advising policymakers, clinical leaders, and public health officials; and
• Striving to eliminate disparities affecting the health of women.