THE ROLE OF THE NIHS OFFICE-OF-RESEARCH-ON-WOMENS-HEALTH

The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) at the National Instit utes of Health (NTH) was created in 1990 to carry out three major mand ates: (1) to strengthen, develop, and increase research into diseases, disorders, and conditions that are unique to, more prevalent among, o r more serious in women, or for which there are different risk factors for women than for men; (2) to ensure that women are appropriately re presented in biomedical and biobehavioral research studies, especially clinical trials, that are supported by the NIH; and (3) to direct ini tiatives to increase the number of women in biomedical careers. One of the ORWH's first accomplishments was a 1992 report that serves as a b asis for the ORWH's research agenda; its recommendations focus on scie ntific issues affecting women's health from birth to old age. To imple ment these recommendations, the ORWH does not fund studies directly bu t instead provides funds through NIH institutes and centers to augment new research initiatives, to expand ongoing studies to address high-p riority areas concerning women's health (14 of which were identified f or special consideration in FY 93), and to increase the participation of women in clinical studies. In addition, the ORWH is playing a key a dvisory role in the NIH's Women's Health Initiative, a long-term study of over 100,000 women to examine the major causes of death, disabilit y, and frailty-heart disease and stroke, breast and colorectal cancers , and osteoporosis-in older women of all races and from all socioecono mic strata. Also, as part of the NIH's overall effort to include more women and minorities in clinical research, the office formed a task fo rce to address concerns about the recruitment and retention of women i n clinical studies and is disseminating information to help investigat ors to recruit and retain more women as research subjects. The office is also involved in the development of MH guidelines on the participat ion of women and minorities in clinical research, to be implemented in FY 95. A major goal of the ORWH and the NIH is to promote greater par ticipation of women in biomed-ical research careers; the steps being t aken to identify barriers and to increase opportunities are explained.