Partnerships in Women's Health -- NPWH and PCORI

As a professional membership organization for women’s health nurse practitioners (WHNPs), the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH) is a leading voice for courageous conversations about women's health. NPWH champions state-of-the-science health care that holistically addresses the unique needs of women across their lifetimes. We elevate the health issues others overlook and compel attention to women's health from providers, policy makers, and researchers.

NPWH’s mission is to ensure the provision of quality primary and specialty health care to women of all ages by women's health and women's health-focused nurse practitioners. Our mission includes protecting and promoting a woman's right to make her own choices regarding her health within the context of her personal, religious, cultural, and family beliefs.

Since its inception in 1980, NPWH has been a trusted source of information on nurse practitioner education and practice and women's health issues. NPWH strives to continuously improve access and quality of health care for women through excellence and innovation in continuing education and professional development; leadership in policy, practice, and research; and through support and services for our members.

NPWH is pleased to have ongoing opportunities to partner with PCORI as we work toward meeting shared goals regarding women’s health. NPWH and PCORI recognize that women have unique and sometimes complex healthcare needs that have not been fully addressed in the clinical and research arenas. PCORI has funded 61 comparative effectiveness research (CER) studies targeting conditions that specifically or more often affect women. A few examples illustrate the wide array of topics addressed in these studies: personalizing breast cancer screening, improving outcomes for low-income mothers with depression, and treatment options for fibroids. The findings of these CER studies provide clinicians and patients with reliable information for shared decision making about treatment options.

A study recently funded by PCORI, Moms in Recovery (MORE): Defining Optimal Care for Pregnant Women and Infants, will be closely followed by NPWH as it focuses on the comparison of outcomes for women receiving prenatal care in practices providing medication-assisted treatment with those receiving care in practices that refer medication-assisted treatment to specialty care. NPWH recognizes the immense significance of opioid use disorder (OUD) for pregnant and postpartum women and their infants. WHNPs are on the forefront to identify, support, and provide appropriate referrals and collaborative care for pregnant and postpartum women with OUD. At our 22nd Annual NPWH Premier Women’s Healthcare Conference in October, we are partnering with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to provide the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s Treatment of OUDs Course as a four-hour workshop, along with a four-hour online education component specifically designed for women’s healthcare providers. As well, previous NPWH conferences, journal articles and our 2016 position statement, Prevention and Management of Opioid Misuse and Opioid Use Disorder Among Women Across the Lifespan, demonstrate our dedication to preparing WHNPs to meet the challenges of the opioid epidemic.

NPWH and PCORI recognize that women have unique and sometimes complex healthcare needs that have not been fully addressed in the clinical and research arenas.

This June we represented NPWH at the PCORI-AHRQ Stakeholder Workshop on Improving Care for Women with Urinary Incontinence (UI) held in Washington, DC. This one-day workshop brought together healthcare providers and organizations to explore the feasibility of developing a dissemination and implementation project aimed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of UI among women. The key findings from the systematic review on nonsurgical interventions for UI for women published by PCORI and AHRQ provided an evidence-based focus.    

PCORI is a valued member of the NPWH-led BOlder Women’s Health Coalition with a goal to bring together leaders in policy, research, health care, and public and clinical education to promote healthy aging for women.

NPWH, through its broad educational strategies and ability to engage nurse practitioners providing women’s health care, disseminates and promotes implementation in practice of best evidence. NPWH has significant potential as a membership organization of nurse practitioners providing women’s health care to participate with PCORI and other partners in the study of outcomes from dissemination and implementation strategies as relates to improving women’s health. 

To learn more about the NPWH activities and initiatives, visit our website at www.npwh.org, where you will find information on upcoming meetings, collaborative initiatives, educational opportunities, and a Well Woman Visit App.

BOlder Vision and Actions

NPWH believes this generation of aging women deserves our most innovative vision and actions to address their healthcare needs, advance their quality of life, and support their ongoing contributions to a better society. NPWH is the lead organization for the BOlder Women’s Health Coalition bringing together cross-sector leaders in health, aging, and clinical arenas to identify opportunities for collaboration and synergy. The goal is to work with healthcare, public policy, research, business, and nonprofit service to secure high-quality health for older women. We are focusing on the needs and unique challenges of aging women and innovating solutions to promote healthy aging.

The coalition’s four supporting pillars are:  

• Policy: Advocating for legislative and regulatory policies that benefit older women
• Clinical Education: Strengthening the knowledge of health care providers on prevention, diagnostics, and holistic treatments of older women
• Public Education: Providing aging women and their families with the information they need to be healthy as they age and to remove the undermining stigma and stereotypes of aging
• Research: Promoting approaches to research that will improve older women’s health and wellness

More than 25 coalition partners, including PCORI, are working to unite diverse sectors, share resources, and create strategies that advance the health and well-being of older American women for decades to come.

The views expressed here are those of the authors and not necessarily those of PCORI.