Blogs

At your last doctor’s visit, did anyone ask if you were safe at home? It’s important to know why you are being asked about your intimate relationships and what happens if you say that you are not safe.  

Ed. note: This blog is cross-posted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The Topic is Cancer Blog. The original post date was August 30, 2017. Read the original post. 

Content warning: Sexual assault

As part of the administration's efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Women's Health (OWH) made four additional awards to the 16 that were announced in July 2017. Like the previous awards, the four new awards go to public and private nonprofit entities to address the primary and/or secondary prevention of prescription and illegal opioid misuse by women across the lifespan.

September 10–16 was National Suicide Prevention Week. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. In fact, it is the only top-10 cause of death that has increased every year for the past decade. In the United States, there were 41,149 suicides in 2013, which is about 113 suicides every day or one every 13 minutes. In Maryland, suicide is the third-leading cause of death for people 15–35 and the first-leading cause of death for people 10–14. For every suicide, it is estimated that 25 people attempt to take their lives, resulting in over 1.1 million suicide attempts a year.

Being a parent is an awesome responsibility. We're our kids' first — and most important — role models, and we're their biggest cheerleaders. But when it comes to getting exercise and being physically active, are we cheering our kids on enough?

We've all seen those pictures of the famous moms looking flawless while their babies are perfectly latched on, feeding away, neither one with a care in the world. They make it look so natural and easy. Well, here's the truth about breastfeeding: It's natural, but it's not always easy.

When I came home from Iraq in 2004, I often felt invisible as a woman soldier. When I left the Army to care for my combat-wounded spouse a year later, that same sense of not being fully recognized or treated equally persisted when I first sought care at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). That's not particularly surprising: Back in 2005, while women made up 15% of the military, we were less than 6% of patients getting care in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Many providers and facilities were ill-prepared to serve us equitably. My frustration drove me to speak out about the barriers I encountered, and today, I'm honored to have the opportunity to advocate on behalf of women within the system as Director of VA's Center for Women Veterans (CWV).

Whether you watch, read, or scroll to get your news, you have undoubtedly seen the reports — our country is in the midst of an epidemic of overdose and deaths as a result of opioid misuse. In 2015, 33,091 Americans died as a result of opioid overdoses. That's higher than the number of people killed in motor vehicle accidents, and it's a 15.6% increase from the previous year. The crisis is having an impact on communities across the country, as deaths have increased across all races and almost all ages. However, the epidemic is having a particularly significant impact on women's health.

Ed. note: This blog is cross-posted from the Office of Minority Health Blog for Health Equity. The original post date was July 28, 2017. Read the original post.