BOlder Women’s Health Coalition

BOlder Women’s Health Coalition

BWHC is organizing cross-sector leaders in
healthcare, public policy, research, business,
and nonprofit service.

New! Read our Call to Action

The Turning Point

The number of American women age 65 and older tripled between 2005 and 2015 and will double again by 2030. This trailblazing group changed and advanced society throughout every phase of their adult lives: integrating higher education, entering and altering the workforce, and redefining sexuality, marriage, childbearing, and parenting.

 

This unprecedented number of women presents our nation with monumental challenges and sweeping opportunities. Their needs and priorities differ significantly from older men, as women live longer, have different chronic conditions, endure more functional impairments, and have different economic needs and challenges.

The Coalition

We convened three meetings between 2015 and 2018 with the community of women’s health advocates, clinical associations, and government agencies in which we identified the need for this coalition and NPWH’s leadership in developing it. In 2018, we established this framework:

Our work focuses on four pillars:

PUBLIC POLICY

Advocating for federal legislative and regulatory policies, based on current science, that benefit older women.

CLINICAL EDUCATION

Strengthening the knowledge of health care providers on prevention, diagnostics, and holistic treatments of older women.

PUBLIC EDUCATION

Developing greater cultural awareness of older women’s physical and mental health needs and undermining stigma and stereotypes.

RESEARCH

Promoting new medical research and approaches to research that will improve older women’s health and wellness.

90

Percent of women make household healthcare decisions

50

is the age of women in the U.S. that are the healthiest, wealthiest, and most active

100

Percent of women earn less than men throughout their lives

Participants

The following organizations have participated in coalition planning conversations:

Aging

  • AARP
  • Alliance for Aging Research
  • American Geriatrics Society
  • Leading Age
  • National Council on Aging
  • SAGE

Disease Prevention

  • American Heart Association
  • National Osteoporosis Foundation
  • Prevent Cancer Foundation
  • Women Against Alzheimer’s

Government

  • US Food and Drug Administration
  • Health Resources and Services Administration
  • Office on Women’s Health

Health

  • Altarum Institute
  • National Council on Patient Information and Education
  • Patient-centered Outcomes Research Institute

Providers

  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  • American Medical Women’s Association
  • Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
  • North American Menopause Society

Women

  • American Sexual Health Association
  • Black Women’s Health Imperative
  • Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc.
  • Healthy Women
  • Society for Women’s Health Research
  • Gray Matters Consulting
  • Audrey Sheppard Women’s Health Consulting

Consumer Advocate

  • National Consumers League

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Our Work

FACTSHEET

This generation of aging women deserves nothing less than our most innovative vision and actions to address their healthcare needs as they grow older, advance their quality of life, and enable their ongoing contributions to a better society.

COALITION PROSPECTUS

We are innovative leaders in women’s health and the aging community – from the nonprofit, public and private sectors – who launched an audacious plan: organize a national coalition that can work together to define, create, and promote a cohesive health agenda for America’s older women.

CALL TO ACTION

Organizations and systems that serve older women today must come together and rethink how we support women’s healthy aging and take action to break down the social and structural barriers that stand in the way.

Need More Info? Contact Us!

For more information, please contact Julia Knox at [email protected] or 202-543-9693 ext. 85