Women's Health

Health Interventions
essay
Reducing Disparities in Infant Mortality: Using Big Data to Help Babies at Risk
Jul 1, 2021
Black babies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—and across America—face much higher mortality rates than white babies. Researchers pulled together thousands of data points on more than 150,000 births to better predict who is at risk and how to help.
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Maternal Health
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Mothers Need a Continuous System of Care Even After Babies Are Born
Lois McCloskey, Ann Celi, Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD
May 10, 2021
Newsweek
In the United States, babies are born into a system of well-child care—a series of planned health care visits designed to protect their health from day one through age six. But no such system exists for their mothers. How do we create a system of health care for mothers that mirrors well-child care?
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
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The Postal Service, Election Security, Reducing Child Deaths: RAND Weekly Recap
Jun 26, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on the role of the U.S. Postal Service, preparing for the presidential election, reducing child deaths in Nigeria, and more.
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Women's Health
commentary
Do We Know How to Treat Alcohol Misuse in Women?
Kristie L. Gore, Sydne Newberry, Susanne Hempel
Apr 29, 2020
The RAND Blog
Despite the many clinical trials that have demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of treatments for alcohol use disorder, we still know little about whether men and women respond differently to treatment. Without knowing whether recommended treatments are effective for women, women are vulnerable to the consequences of alcohol misuse.
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Firearms
blog
U.S. Gun Policy, Reopening Schools, Prepping for a Hurricane: RAND Weekly Recap
Apr 24, 2020
This weekly recap focuses on what scientific evidence says about the effects of U.S. gun laws, how schools may have to change when they reopen, preparing for a COVID-19 hurricane, and more.
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Women's Health
commentary
Women and COVID-19: Studying the Impact of Sex and Gender
Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD, Lori Frank @LoriBethFrank, Andrew W. Dick, Melanie A. Zaber @MelanieZaber, Denise D. Quigley, Anula Jayasuriya
Apr 13, 2020
The RAND Blog
Much of current medical evidence is based largely on men. The current COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique opportunity to examine the potential value of asking questions about sex and gender differences to inform ongoing policy decisions.
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Maternal Health
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Meghan Markle May Avoid the Spotlight After Giving Birth and Send a Powerful Public Health Message
Sarah MacCarthy
Apr 11, 2019
USA Today
Meghan Markle plans to break from royal tradition by declining to present her baby to the public on the the steps of the maternity ward, hours after giving birth, with flawless hair and makeup. This could bring attention to many of the postpartum challenges faced by women everywhere.
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Family Planning
commentary
The Economic Rationale for Investing in Family Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa
Peter Glick, Sebastian Linnemayr
Aug 3, 2016
The World Bank Investing in Health Blog
Proven benefits to reduced fertility — or to delayed start to childbearing and greater spacing between births — include lower maternal mortality, fewer unsafe abortions, reduced risks from early childbearing, and women's ability to engage in more income-generating opportunities.
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Electronic Medical Records
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Electronic Health Records: Yesterday's Ebola and Today's Zika
Shira H. Fischer @ShiraFischer
Feb 18, 2016
The Health Care Blog
Electronic health records in U.S. hospitals are not yet prompting for screening questions related to Zika virus. Why? The existing system is too slow to respond and when it does, it finds itself chasing the past.
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Public Health
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Fighting the Zika Virus: What Public Health Officials Need to Do
Melinda Moore
Jan 28, 2016
Fox News Channel
For now, public health officials and their partners must do all they can to control Zika virus, using the tools at hand. That may include instituting a public health campaign to reduce mosquito-breeding sites and promoting prudent protection against mosquito bites.
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Family Planning
commentary
Policy Barriers to Best Practices: The Impact of Restrictive State Regulations on Access to Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives
Priya Batra, Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD
Nov 6, 2015
Women's Health Issues
Long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC) methods of birth control, which include the intrauterine device and subdermal implant, are highly effective, very safe, preferable to women, and cost effective. But some states' contraceptive policies create direct and indirect barriers to LARC use.
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Maternal Health
commentary
Family Planning Must Be Part of the Humanitarian Response in Africa's Conflict Zones
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Jul 1, 2015
The RAND Blog
Worldwide, nearly 800 women die every day due to mostly preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. More than half of these deaths occur in fragile states torn by armed conflict and generalized violence.
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Domestic Violence
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Domestic Violence as a Way of Life: The Reality for Papua New Guinea's Women
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Dec 31, 2014
The RAND Blog
Violence against women is a persistent problem around the world. That's particularly true of Papua New Guinea, where abuse of women by domestic partners, gang members, and members of law enforcement is widespread, drawing comparisons to conditions in conflict zones.
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Developing Countries
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The Health Needs of Syrian Women in and Around the Za'atari Refugee Camp
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Oct 13, 2014
The RAND Blog
The Syrian conflict, now in its fourth year, has been the main contributor to the largest refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide—and the problem can be expected to get worse as the fighting continues.
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Developing Countries
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Women's Menstrual Hygiene in India: The Health and Environmental Implications
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Aug 22, 2014
The RAND Blog
According to India's 2011 census, 89 percent of the nation's rural population lives in households that lack toilets. This absence of proper sanitation presents public health challenges and affects Indian women disproportionately.
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Health Screening
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Should You Get Screened for Heart Disease?
Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD
Jul 24, 2014
Sister to Sister
Many think of cardiovascular disease (CVD) primarily as a male problem. But one in three adult women has some form of CVD, which has killed more American women than men every year since 1984. Cardiovascular risk assessments can help women understand their current risk and health behaviors.
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Diet and Eating Habits
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Take the Morality Out of Health Choices: Stop the Blame Game
Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD
Jul 10, 2014
Sister to Sister
Framing positive health behaviors as good or virtuous and less effective or harmful ones as bad trips most people up on a regular basis. People would do well to think of positive health behaviors—such as getting a good night's sleep or eating healthy foods—as doing what works, rather than as being virtuous.
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Cardiovascular Disorders
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Have You Estimated Your Cardiovascular Risk?
Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD
Jun 26, 2014
Sister to Sister
Research suggests that setting a baseline by getting an estimate of your individual cardiovascular risk can help you see more clearly what you have at stake and what you can do to improve your chances of a long and healthy life.
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Developing Countries
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First Steps Toward Addressing DR Congo's Rape Crisis
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Jun 11, 2014
The RAND Blog
An effort to address atrocities against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo has fallen short of advocates' hopes for justice. With its focus on criminal prosecution, the strategy failed to consider the weak infrastructure of the judicial system, left victims' needs unmet, and did little to address prevention.
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Cardiovascular Disorders
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5 Steps to Decrease Your Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD
Jun 11, 2014
Sister to Sister
Five steps could help reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, especially if you track your efforts: know your risk, increase physical activity, reduce sedentary time, improve nutrition, and get enough sleep.
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Women's Health
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Assessing and Addressing Women's Health and Health Care
Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD
Mar 28, 2014
The RAND Blog
Women make up a majority of the U.S. population. Yet research policies and practices often treat women's health and health care as special topics or minority issues. The resulting knowledge gaps hamstring efforts to improve women's health care and outcomes even for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death among women.
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Cardiovascular Disorders
commentary
Caring for Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes, Why Gender Matters
Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD
Feb 27, 2014
Girl with Pen, Bedside Manners blog
High-quality routine care for both cardiovascular disease and diabetes is at least as relevant to women's health and survival as it is to men's. Yet evidence suggests that women continue to face gaps in even low-cost, routine aspects of care.
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Women's Health
blog
Women's Heart Disease Awareness
Feb 5, 2014
Friday is National Wear Red Day, when people are asked to wear red to raise awareness about the health risks women face from heart disease. Too little attention is devoted to preventing heart disease in women and improving the quality and outcomes of their care.
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Demographics
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Could Britain See a Baby Boom?
Stijn Hoorens @StijnHoorens
Jul 31, 2013
CNN
The royal birth comes at a time when fertility in Britain is increasing after decades of decline. Today, the U.K.'s total fertility rate, a proxy for the average number of children per women in a given year, is the third highest in Europe behind only France and Ireland.
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Religion and Civil Society
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Can Catholic Colleges Block Free Condom Distribution?
Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD
Apr 23, 2013
Ms. Magazine
If this issue were to be decided on the basis of public health benefits, the outcome would be clear: Condoms indisputably prevent both unintended pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections, writes Chloe Bird.
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Preventive Health Care
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Making Heart Disease a Women's Issue
Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD
Mar 22, 2013
Ms. Magazine
When it comes to women's health, cancer gets a good deal of the attention; somehow, it hasn’t fully registered that so many of our mothers, sisters, friends and daughters are being affected by another, often silent killer, writes Chloe E. Bird.
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Health Care Program Evaluation
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'Implementation Science' May Help Providers Adopt New Treatments Despite Real-World Constraints
Matthew Chinman, Joie D. Acosta, Patricia A. Ebener
Feb 18, 2013
A new field called implementation science addresses the issue of how to best support providers to take up new, research-proven treatments and implement them well. A RAND study will test how well Boys & Girls Clubs carry out a program proven to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, with and without an intervention called Getting To Outcomes.
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Affordable Care Act
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California Improves on Affordable Care Act by Letting RNs Dispense Birth Control
Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD
Oct 9, 2012
Ms. Magazine
As we look for ways to provide efficient, high-quality and cost-effective healthcare to more Americans, states may study California as a potential model for how to do more to deliver on what the Affordable Care Act has to offer women, while saving money at the same time, writes Chloe Bird.
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Women's Health
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Supporting Comprehensive Health Care for Women Makes Dollars, and Sense
Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD
Sep 5, 2012
The RAND Blog
As we look for ways to provide efficient, high-quality, and cost-effective health care to more Americans, we can't afford to ignore women's health issues, including reproductive health care and the cost savings that contraceptive access provides, writes Chloe Bird.
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Female Populations
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Celebrating Birth Control on Mother's Day? Not as Counterintuitive as It Sounds
Chloe E. Bird @ChloeBirdPhD
May 11, 2012
Ms. Magazine
Reliable birth control contributed to economic development by reducing women's risk of dropping out of school associated with early childbearing and high fertility rates, contributing in turn to increases in women's labor force participation, the continuity of their careers, and the standard of living of women, children and families, writes Chloe Bird.
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commentary
Virginity Pledges Work for Some Teens
Steven C. Martino
Apr 1, 2009
Providence Journal
Essentially, the available research suggests that teaching abstinence alone to teenagers does not work — they are no more likely to delay the start of sexual activity than other teenagers. But research has not been so clear regarding virginity pledges specifically, writes Steven Martino.
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commentary
Help for Homeless Women
Suzanne L. Wenzel
Jun 16, 2006
Washingtonpost.com
Published commentary by RAND staff: Help for Homeless Women, in Washingtonpost.com.
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