Women’s Health Policy Research & Advocacy

Division of Women’s Health faculty work to promote evidence-based policies that advance women’s health and seek to achieve equity for women and vulnerable populations worldwide. Our faculty are directly engaged in advocacy initiatives and research that informs policy at the local, state, and federal levels. The division provides faculty and trainees with opportunities to build their advocacy skills in order to amplify the translational and public health impacts of their research. Many faculty are engaged in initiatives such as providing written and oral testimony supporting legislation, engaging in legal briefs, educating policymakers, partnering with non-governmental organizations, community organizing, and writing policy-oriented op-eds and journal articles.

The division engages in policy in multiple domains:

• Medical education about policy issues relevant to women’s health and gender-informed medical care
• Reducing inequities in maternal health
• Improving healthcare for survivors of violence and trauma
• Mental health parity for women
• Inclusion of women in research
• Improving conditions in carceral settings and supporting work to deinstitutionalize the criminal justice system
• Access to abortion and family planning
• Pregnancy screening and intention as a public health issue
• Integrating women’s health curricula into medical schools