Health Resources

Take action to improve your health

"The first important step is education... The second step on the road to good health is taking action... while the medical community can conduct research, and provide recommendations and guidelines on health-promoting behaviors, the ultimate responsibility for embarking on the road to a healthier and more hopeful life rests with you."

Excerpt from the "American Medical Women's Association: The Women's Complete Healthbook," written entirely by women physicians and other medical professionals.

The above is reprinted from the task force homepage to reiterate the purpose of this website.

This section is intended to provide reliable, accurate information on health prevention and wellness generally. It includes information we have found to be particularly helpful on a variety of health issues that may or may not appear elsewhere on this site.

As the task force members are volunteers, we invite you to let us know of your suggestions for additional resources by e-mailing either task force co-chair, Carolyn Jacobson or Marilyn Keefe.

As many NCWO affiliate organizations are experts in various aspects of women's health, many are featured by topic in the Health Priorities section of this site.

The NCWO website features a listing of all affiliates that have health programs. You can access this list here.

Under the Task Force Priorities section of this site, you will see key issues related to women's preventive health. Under each priority we provide an overview of the issue, followed by NCWO affiliate sites on the issue, followed by additional resources on the issue.

Key Sites on Women's Health

The Office on Women's Health at the Department of Health and Human Services has a wealth of information. We list it first here, as it is often the first place we look at to find resources on women's health at every stage of life.
Women's Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its motto is "Working to promote and protect the health, safety, and quality of life of women."

Vetting Health Sites

Thanks to the web, a wealth of medical information is just a click away. But how accurate is that information and how much can you - and your members - rely on it?

A couple of basic questions to ask when researching a medical or health question online is "Who is sponsoring the website, who paid for any studies reported and is the website promoting a cause?" The answers to these questions will help establish whether the site and info are credible, reliable and scientifically accurate. One top-drawer site is Medline Plus, sponsored by the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. Here you'll find solid info on hundreds of health topics and can easily access pictures and videos to help explain conditions. And the material is available in 40 languages, a great way to reach more of your membership!

Following are additional Gateway and Specialized Health Information Sites (courtesy of Health Information Partners, GW School of Public Health & Health Services*):

Gateway Sites

For seniors

For parents, kids and teens

For teens

Multiple Languages

* The Health Information Partners site includes an especially valuable section, Medical Procedures, that describes routine and special diagnostic tests with instructions to prepare for them. The primary source is Medline Plus.

Relating to the world we live in

Plan for Your Health, a public education campaign from Aetna and the Financial Planning Association created in 2004, gives you the information you need to make health benefits and financial choices that meet your needs now and in the future. (Planifique para su Salud is the Spanish language site.) Some of the highlights include:
- Navigating Your Health Benefits for Dummies (free copy)
- How to choose a health plan after a layoff
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has launched a campaign called Questions Are the Answer, aimed at getting Americans to research and ask questions of their health-care providers.
- The website includes written materials, as well as videos. There are 10 basic questions provided. The site also helps the consumer create a list of questions based on the specific nature of the upcoming visit with their health-care provider.
How to get the most from your health plan

NCWO-affiliate campaigns to make America more work/family-friendly

The National Women's Law Center created the Reform Matters Toolkit so "women's advocates can play an integral role in making sure that health reform plans address women-specific needs and the challenges that women face in the health care system."
Turning Promise Into Progress: A Plan of Action for a New Administration (PDF)
- The National Partnership for Women & Families developed a comprehensive
  agenda to accomplish meaningful change on the key issues that shape the lives of women and families: health care and reproductive rights, work and family, workplace fairness, and judicial nominations.
Raising Women's Voices for the Health Care We Need (many NCWO affiliates are partners)

Some health websites we especially like

National Health Observances 2009
Coalition of Labor Union Women - Women's Health Links
Remind yourself to schedule your screenings
- (Includes reminders for blood donation, cholesterol test, colon cancer screening, diabetes test, mammogram, cervical screening)
National Women's Health Resource Center
- (Includes hundreds of health and wellness topics for women. Also offers free e-newsletters and materials on a wide range of women's health issues.)
Girls Health (affiliated with The National Women's Health Information Center)
Ask Me 3
- (Website that promotes health literacy and encourages patients to ask health care providers and pharmacists 3 questions: "What is my main problem?" "What do I need to do?" "Why is it important for me to do this?")
Hadassah Doctor Patient Communication Fact Sheet

Women's Health Task Force