The Women's Health Data Book
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A Profile of Women’s Health in the United States Dawn Misra, Editor Third Edition The Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health is a nonprofit organiza- tion working to improve health care for women through research, dialogue, and information dissemination. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is an independent, national health philanthropy dedicated to providing information and analysis on health issues to policymakers, the media, and the general public. The Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries. Suggested citation: Misra, D, ed., Women’s Health Data Book: A Profile of Women’s Health in the United States, 3rd edition. Washington, DC: Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health and The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. 2001. Copyright © December 2001 Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, Washington, D.C., and The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, California. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. ISBN 0-9702285-1-1 A Profile of Women’s Health in the United States Dawn Misra, Editor T hird Edition Preface iii Preface As the field of women’s health has evolved and with a current, comprehensive, and reliable grown, the breadth of information needed to compilation of data and trends on women’s understand its many dimensions is greater than health in the United States. ever. We live in the information age—a time of unprecedented access to data and information— New and notable in this edition is an introductory yet we may lack the time to navigate through the chapter on social factors that firmly establishes the many available sources of information or the link between women’s health and the broader expertise to judge which sources are the most context of women’s lives. Social roles as mothers reliable. With this new edition, the Women’s and caregivers and membership in groups defined Health Data Book: A Profile of Women’s Health in by race and ethnicity, age, income, education, the United States continues to offer readers employment, and marital status have profound current information gleaned from a host of effects on women’s health status and access to sources on a variety of women’s health issues and use of health services. Subsequent chapters ranging from contraceptive use to heart disease, use this lens to offer detailed information on how from intimate partner violence to managed care. these factors relate to specific health indicators. Since the preparation of the first edition of the With more women living longer and with Women’s Health Data Book, there have been improved therapies for life-threatening or debili- many important accomplishments in the field of tating diseases, access to health care services and women’s health. We now accept that women and individual health behaviors play an increasingly men have different patterns of illness and care- important role in determining women’s quality of seeking behavior, and can have different physio- life. We have expanded the focus of chapter 6 on logic responses to health conditions and to health behaviors to include data on diet and exer- medical treatments. Practically all federal agen- cise, and broadened the scope of chapter 8 on cies that oversee health care research and access, utilization, and quality of health care. New services now have staff dedicated to assuring topics include preventive health services, physi- attention to women’s health issues. National data cian counseling, and a discussion of quality collection efforts have also improved, particularly measurement. with respect to domestic violence and adolescent health, and greater detail is now available from New material in chapter 2 on reproductive health national surveys on health and health behaviors includes information on chronic but non-life- by gender, age, and race. threatening conditions such as endometriosis and uterine fibroids. Although, these conditions affect There are several new and exciting aspects to the large numbers of women with serious implica- third edition of the Women’s Health Data Book, tions for their quality of life, data are scarce. among them a new partnership between the Chapter 5 on mental health has been revised and Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health and the updated with new analyses of studies on mental Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. This collabo- health problems among women. Unfortunately, ration permitted us to broaden the scope of the no new nationally representative prevalence book, to improve the layout and presentation of studies on mental health have been conducted for data, and to make the information presented more than 20 years, a serious gap in the informa- even more accessible to the reader. As in earlier tion available on a topic vital to women and editions, the goal of the third edition of the society. Women’s Health Data Book is to provide readers iv The Women’s Health Data Book Major gaps also remain in our understanding of foremost, we would like to express our heartfelt differences in health conditions and access to appreciation to the new principal author, Dawn care among subgroups of women. Unfortunately, Misra, Ph.D., who stepped into the giant shoes of there is frequently a significant lag time in publi- her predecessor and editor of the first two cation of data and details on minority groups editions, Jacqueline Horton, Sc.D., and ably filled such as Native Americans and Asian/Pacific them. She is to be commended for thoughtfully Islanders are often lacking. While disparities are building on the structure of the two previous widely acknowledged, progress documenting editions, while expanding into new areas to take and addressing them has been painfully slow. into account new data and emerging issues in women’s health. We would also like to extend a Although the authors have attempted to be inclu- special thank you to Zoë Beckerman of the Kaiser sive, not every women’s health topic could be Family Foundation for her critical role though the addressed. Data and space limitations necessi- entire review and publication process. tated difficult choices. Nevertheless, we hope that health care providers, policymakers, researchers, writers, teachers, and students will find this volume a useful resource in their work Martha C. Romans and one they consult frequently. As always, we Executive Director welcome readers’ suggestions for future editions Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health of this book. We would like to extend a special thank you to Alina Salganicoff, Ph.D. some of the many individuals who made this Vice President and Director Women’s Health Data Book a reality. First and Women’s Health Policy Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Editor's Acknowledgments v Editor's Acknowledgments This book represents the contributions of many able contributions to this project, assisting me with people who served as coauthors, researchers, the collection and synthesis of data and the writing reviewers, and editors. I would like to extend a of the text. Amy Jacobs, a research assistant at the special thank you to my collaborators on each of Jacobs Institute, carefully reviewed all references the chapters who are listed on page vi. I would and tracked down needed data and sources in the also like to express my appreciation to the final stages of editing. I also thank my administra- reviewers who generously gave their time and tive assistant, Elizabeth Curry, for her many careful effort to provide external reviews of the materials readings of the book and excellent work in in each chapter. Specifically, I would like to thank preparing figures and tables throughout the book. Bill Andrews, Douglas Ball, Fred Brancati, Carol I was also fortunate to have the able assistance of Bruce, Charlyn Cassady, Willard Cates, Laura Melissa Hawkins in the final stages of work on this Caufield, Gary Chase, Louis Floyd, Francis book. I thank her for her dedication to completing Giardiello, Mary Goodwin, Juliette Kendrick, this project. I would also like to express my appre- Karen McDonnell, Roberta Ness, Patricia ciation to Jane Stein and her staff at The Stein O’Campo, Robert Park, Melissa Perry, Mary Group for their editorial assistance and manage- Rogers, Jonathan Samet, Ulonda Shamwell, Cheryl ment of the production process. Warner, Carol Weisman, Lynn Wilcox, and Sara Wilcox for their efforts to assure the material Finally, I thank Martha Romans at the Jacobs included was as accurate as possible. Institute of Women’s Health and Alina Salganicoff and Zoë Beckerman at the Henry J. Kaiser Family I would like to acknowledge the individuals who Foundation for providing me with this opportunity provided much needed data and other relevant and for their support and guidance throughout the information: Linda Bartlett, Trude Bennett, Cynthia process. This was an extremely gratifying project Berg, Kate Brett, Ronald Brookmeyer, Holly in many respects because of the pleasure of Grason, Jennifer Madans, and Carol Weisman. working with these individuals. Many colleagues at Johns Hopkins, too numerous to name, also provided support and advice Dawn Misra, Ph.D., Editor throughout the writing of this book. The Women’s Health Data Book: My graduate research assistants, Patti Ephraim, A Profile of Women’s Health in the United States Ruby Nguyen, and Anjel Vahratian, made invalu- Third Edition vi The Women’s Health Data Book Contributors (in Alphabetical Order) Chapter 1: Chapter 5: Impact of Social and Economic Factors Mental Health on Women’s Health Courtney Denning Johnson, Dawn Misra Holly Grason, Cynthia Minkovitz, Dawn Misra, Donna Strobino Chapter 6: Health Behaviors Chapter 2: Patti Ephraim, Dawn Misra, Donna Perinatal and Reproductive Health Strobino, Anjel Vahratian Patti Ephraim, Melissa Hawkins, Dawn Misra, Ruby Nguyen, Kendra Rothert, Chapter 7: Donna Strobino, Anjel Vahratian Violence Against Women Nancy Berglas, Dawn Misra Chapter 3: Infections Chapter 8: Ruby Nguyen, Dawn Misra, Anjel Access, Utilization and Quality of Vahratian Health Care Zoë Beckerman, Melissa Hawkins, Dawn Chapter 4: Misra, Alina Salganicoff, Roberta Wyn Chronic Conditions Patti Ephraim, Dawn Misra, Ruby Nguyen, Anjel Vahratian Contents vii Contents Preface .