Women's Health

In the Spotlight

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Sexual violence is a very serious public health problem that affects millions of women and men. In the United States, 1 in 5 women have been raped in their lifetime and nearly 1 in 2 women have experienced other forms of sexual violence at some point in their lives.

April is STD Awareness Month - Make a Difference
April is STD Awareness Month, an opportunity for individuals, doctors, and community-based organizations to address ways to prevent some of the nearly 20 million new sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) in the United States each year.

National Women’s Health Week 2013, May 12-18
National Women’s Health Week begins on Mother’s Day each year. Individuals, families, communities, and others work to help women learn how to achieve longer, healthier, and safer lives.

Healthy Gardening
Gardening can be a great way to enjoy physical activity, beautify the community, and go green. However, it is important to protect yourself and take precautions as you work and play in the sun and around insects, chemicals, and lawn and garden equipment.

Science and Research

HIV Among Women
As of the end of 2010, one in four people living with a diagnosis of HIV infection in the United States were women. Black/African American women and Latinas are disproportionately affected by HIV infection compared with women of other races/ethnicities. Updated fact sheet.

Public Health Grand Rounds Video: Reducing Teen Pregnancy in the United States
Prevention of teen pregnancy requires broad-based efforts including evidence-based sexual health education, support for parents in talking with their children about pregnancy prevention and other aspects of sexual and reproductive health, and ready access to effective and affordable contraception for teens who are sexually active.

Impact of an Innovative Approach to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV — Malawi, July 2011–September 2012
Using data collected through routine program supervision, this report is the first to summarize Malawi's experience implementing Option B+ under the direction of the Ministry of Health and supported by the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Clinical Guidelines for Occupational Lifting in Pregnancy: Evidence Summary and Provisional Recommendations
Available in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, available online March 1, 2013. This report proposes criteria to guide decisions by medical providers about permissible weights for lifting tasks performed at work over the course of an uncomplicated pregnancy.

Eligibility and Enrollment in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) — 27 States and New York City, 2007–2008
The results of this analysis indicate that, although WIC covered most eligible women overall and in many states during 2007–2008, an estimated 662,800 eligible women were not enrolled in WIC in the 27 states examined.

Mobile Device Use While Driving — United States and Seven European Countries, 2011
In the United States, few differences by sex were observed. A significantly larger percentage of both men and women aged 25–44 years reported talking on a cell phone while driving compared with those aged 55–64 years, and a significantly larger percentage of men and women aged 18–34 years reported that they had read or sent text or e-mail messages while driving compared with those aged 45–64 years.

HIV Infection Among Heterosexuals at Increased Risk — United States, 2010
Overall, 25.8% of participants had never been tested for HIV until the NHBS survey. Given the high HIV prevalence in this sample, additional research should be conducted to identify culturally appropriate interventions that overcome barriers to HIV testing and increase linkage to care for heterosexuals with low SES in urban areas with high prevalence of AIDS.

Prevention and Control of Meningococcal Disease: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)
Includes two sections on Safety of Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Pregnancy, and Vaccinating during Pregnancy and Breastfeeding.

Health and Wellness

STDs and Travel
Travelers who have casual sex are at risk for sexually transmitted diseases. Prevent STDs when you travel overseas.

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT): Caitlin's Story
March is deep vein thrombosis (DVT) awareness month. About 300,000 to 600,000 people are newly affected by DVT each year in the United States. Read about one woman's experience with DVT.

Staying Healthy on a Cruise
Don’t risk spoiling your cruise vacation with an unexpected illness. Follow these tips for a safe and healthy cruise vacation.

Snapshots

	Figure 3. Weighted percentage of adults aged 18–64 years who reported that they had talked on their cell phone while driving at least once and read or sent text or e-mail messages while driving at least once in the past 30 days, by sex and age group — United States, HealthStyles, 2011
	QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years Who Often Felt Worried, Nervous, or Anxious, by Sex and Age Group — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2010–2011
	QuickStats: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Disease Death Rates Among Women Aged 25–54 Years, by Race and Age Group — National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2000–2010

Programs and Partnerships

Display Immunization Schedules on Your Website
Follow these steps to easily place the adult or children’s immunization schedules within your organization's website. Using this method, you can confidently display the current recommended immunization schedules and footnotes for your web visitors.

Self-directed and STD-focused SAS Instruction
CDC’s Division of STD Prevention announces the release of the Self-directed and STD-focused SAS Instruction. This series of 10-module online training modules teaches users how to use SAS software to analyze STD data.

Understanding Evidence – Violence Prevention
Understanding Evidence is a new, interactive web resource that supports public health practitioners in making evidence-informed decisions around violence prevention. This free, online resource offers practitioners and others working to prevent violence important knowledge and resources for using evidence in their decision making processes.

This site contains documents in PDF format. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to access the file. If you do not have the Acrobat Reader, you may download a free copy from the Adobe Web site.