The Office on Women's Health (OWH) is part of the

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Im ...

(DHHS) and functions to improve the

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

and

well-being Well-being is what is Intrinsic value (ethics), ultimately good for a person. Also called "welfare" and "quality of life", it is a measure of how well life is going for someone. It is a central goal of many individual and societal endeavors. ...

of U.S. women and girls. The main headquarters, from which the OWH operate, is located in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

with ten other regional women's health coordinators positioned across the country to implement local health initiatives.

Background

The OWH was introduced in 1991 within the DHHS and is directed by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for omen'sHealth (DASWH.) The OWH typically work alongside federal

government agencies A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, ...

; associations of

health care professionals Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, pain ...

; tribal organizations; non-profit charities; consumer groups and state, county and local governments. Through funding and contracts with these organisations, the OWH is able to administer various strategies and programmes to improve women's health in America and increase awareness. The

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

codified the establishment of an Office on Women’s Health within the Office of the Secretary of HHS, as well as Offices of Women’s Health within four of its agencies: the

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ; pronounced "ark" by initiates and often "A-H-R-Q" by the public) is one of twelve agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The agency is headquartered in North ...

(AHRQ), the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

(CDC), the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

(FDA), and the

Health Resources and Services Administration The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland. It is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care service ...

(HRSA).

Awards and recognition

A number of campaigns employed by the OWH have gained recognition for their work: * 'Best Bones Forever!', a campaign encouraging girls to eat more foods with

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

and

vitamin D Vitamin D is a group of structurally related, fat-soluble compounds responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, along with numerous other biological functions. In humans, the most important compo ...

, received a Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil Award for Best Government Public Service Campaign. * '

National Women’s Health Week National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

', a week aimed at increasing awareness about women's health, received a Blue Pencil & Gold Screen Award of Excellence from the National Association of Government Communicators. * The OWH website, womenshealth.gov, won the Government Customer Support Excellence Award in the Customer Focus Excellence category. * Womenshealth.gov and girlshealth.gov were ranked as top performers in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Survey.

Regional Coordinators

The role of local coordinators is to comply with national strategy established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and to represent the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health by initiating campaigns in their communities. Other responsibilities include identifying regional needs in women's health and implementing activities in health care service delivery, research, and education. The regions are split up in the following way: * Region I – Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont * Region II – New Jersey, New York, Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John) * Region III – Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia * Region IV – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee * Region V – Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin * Region VI – Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas * Region VII – Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska * Region VIII – Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming * Region IX – Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the United States Pacific Island Jurisdictions: American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau * Region X – Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington

References

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External links

WomensHealth.gov

GirlsHealth.gov
Women's health Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health