NIH/Office of Research on Women’s Health

The NIH/Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) serves as a focal point for women’s health research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in setting and monitoring policy, promoting and directing research, and enhancing scientific career development. Established in 1990 within the Office of the Director of the NIH, ORWH works in partnership with the NIH Institutes, Centers, and Divisions (ICDs) to ensure that women’s health research becomes an integral part of the scientific fabric at NIH and throughout the scientific community. ORWH has a threefold mandate: to strengthen and enhance research related to diseases, disorders, and conditions that affect women and to ensure that research conducted and supported by the NIH adequately addresses issues regarding women’s health; to ensure that women are adequately represented in biomedical and behavioral research studies supported by NIH; and to develop opportunities and support for recruitment, retention, reentry, and advancement of women in biomedical careers. Using its threefold mandate as a basis for action, ORWH is focusing its efforts in the major following areas: Implementation of a Research Agenda for Women’s Health in collaboration with the NIH (ICDs); Recruitment and Retention of Women in Clinical Studies; Implementation of a Tracking System and Other Activities to Monitor the Inclusion of Women in NIH-Supported Biomedical and Behavioral Research; Recruitment, Retention, Reentry, and Advancement of Women in Biomedical Careers; and Policy Development Activities including Legal and Ethical Issues Associated with Inclusion of Women in Clinical Studies, Women’s Health Curriculum in Medical Academic and Clinical Training, and Collaboration on the “NIH Women’s Health Initiative,” a prevention study to examine the major causes of death, disability, and frailty in post-menopausal women of all races and socioeconomic strata. The ORWH has a web site on the Internet at .